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New FDA rules require nutrition labels to show how much sugar was added

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 9:17PM EST

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Nutrition facts labeling will now contain a new category called “Added Sugars” that’s supposed to better portray reality, the government announced. That way, you’ll know exactly how much extra sugar was added to any type of food or beverage. But that’s not the only change you can expect from the upcoming new nutrition label requirements.

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The Added Sugars can be found within the Total Carbohydrates section of a nutrition label, right under Total Sugars.

The government also announced that the “Calories From Fat” category is gone. The fats section is still going to show you what types of fats are found inside your favorite foods, including saturated and trans fats.

Food makers will now have to declare the actual amount of vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium on the label, in addition to the percent Daily Value.

Furthermore, packages that contain between one and two servings will have to present the information for the whole package, rather than just per serving. Some labels will have two columns, separating per serving and per package.

The FDA is also making several changes to the design of the nutrition label to help you make informed decisions about what you eat. “These changes include increasing the type size for ‘Calories,’ ‘servings per container,’ and the ‘Serving size’ declaration, and bolding the number of calories and the ‘Serving size’ declaration to highlight this information.”

A comparison between the old and new designs follows below.

Food companies have two years to comply with the new rules, or three years if they make less than $10 million in annual food sales.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.