How the Nutrition Food Label Was Developed, Part 1: The Nutrition Facts Panel

The role of nutrition labeling in improving the diet of Americans rests on its ability to provide information that consumers need to maintain health and reduce the risk of disease. Nutrition labeling serves as an essential link between the motivation to make dietary changes and the ability to do so. In the first part of a series of article, Taylor and Wilkening offer insight into the development of the nutrition label against the backdrop of the goal of improving health. The Nutrition Facts panel serves as the cornerstone of nutrition labeling and provides the required declaration of the nutritional value of the food. It also serves as the key underpinning for the label claims framework, resulting in a linkage between the facts panel and the basis for label claim statements.