Whenever I need to make a change in my diet or my family’s diet, I spend extra time reading food and beverage labels. Whether it’s avoiding peanuts because of an allergy, or preparing meals for a family member with high blood pressure or kidney disease, I check out food labels to ensure that the meals I serve are safe and healthy. This is true of most people: when consumers are looking to eat more healthfully, one of their prime sources of information is food labels. The International Food Information Council’s (IFIC) 2012 Food and Health Survey shows that consumers look at claims, the ingredient list and the Nutrition Facts panel for the information they want. The more consumers use food labels, the more likely they are to have a healthy weight. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently evaluated consumer understanding of front of pack symbols. The study results suggested that traffic lights for selected “nutrients to limit” plus calorie information may be the most helpful. However, there was also an indication that traffic lights can be confusing, since consumers may focus too much on a single “red light” on an overall healthy food product. Knowing that labels can seriously influence health, many organizations and individuals have strong feelings about what should be on them. The labeling recommendations include changes to the Nutrition Facts panel, nutrient content claims and front-of-pack labeling symbols. The Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute announced the development of a voluntary front-of-pack system they hope will be widely adopted across the food industry, Facts up Front. This is a front-of-pack icon that identifies a product’s serving size, calories, saturated fat, sugars and sodium and may also declare up to two beneficial nutrients. Many companies are planning on rolling out new labels with Facts up Front over the next year. Mark Bittman, a food columnist and cookbook author, made his own recommendations for the food label. He advocates for a traffic light system, with the content of various nutrients ranked. He thinks that labels should also rank the healthfulness of the food for the environment, animals and workers. These recommended criteria are far beyond anything other organizations have identified, since other recommendations have focused primarily on nutrients. The only change that FDA has made to the Nutrition Facts panel since it was introduced in 1993 has been to mandate trans fat declaration. However, the rulemaking process for updating the Nutrition Facts panel has begun with an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in 2007. We expect a proposed rule to be released late this year or early 2013. At the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ meeting last month, Dr. Barbara Schneeman, Director of FDA’s Office of Nutrition, Labeling and Dietary Supplements, stated that FDA will update the Nutrition Facts panel first, then examine the issue of front-of-pack labeling. She indicated that they will use findings from consumer research and the launch of Facts Up Front to guide FDA’s decisions about front-of-pack nutrition icons. What nutrition information do you use to communicate the benefits of your products?  What information seems to resonate best with your customers?