FDA Wants To Give Nutrition Labels An Overhaul

DENVER (CBS4) - Those who get confused at the grocery store looking at the nutrition labels on food items are not alone -- the government admits they can be confusing. Now there's a call for change.

The Food and Drug Administration admits the labels are confusing, so after 20 years they're ready to give food labels a much needed facelift.

The FDA surveyed thousands of consumers who said they find some of the information confusing, particularly when it comes to how many calories are inside.

It can be easy to eat more than intended. One muffin label says 110 calories per serving, but a serving size is half a muffin.

For shoppers, some of the labels simply don't make sense.

"I got pickles and it said a fourth of a pickle was the serving size," one consumer said.

The FDA has some proposals to simplify things. For example, calculating the nutrition in snack-sized bags as just one big serving. Or using a dual column system: one column with calories per serving, the other for the total package.

The FDA is also considering a larger font size for numbers that show calories, and removing the "calories from fat" section, which is difficult for consumers to understand.

The next step is to get input from the public and then try the changes in stores.