© 2026 ABC News

Another new rule announced Friday updates serving sizes that are more in line with amounts that people actually consume. For example, a serving size for 12-oz and 20-oz bottles of soda will now be listed as one bottle. FDA officials stressed the change is a more accurate representation of how much people consume in one sitting (and they are not encouraging individuals to drink more soda).

Finally, the new labels contain an updated description for the meaning of \"daily value\" information, which FDA officials hope will be more easily comprehensible to consumers.

Nutrition expert Dr. David Katz, founding director of Yale University's Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center and founder of the True Health Initiative, applauds the FDA on these changes while acknowledging that many consumers may still not know how to best utilize nutritional facts to make healthy choices.

\"Overall, these changes are timely and represent an update that is in accord with the evolving understanding of nutritional priorities,\" he said. \"But most people don’t know how to put that all together and make the decision 'Is this product a good choice – is there something else I should eat instead?'\"

The best way to choose high-quality food, he advised, is to look for vegetables, whole grains and foods with minimal sugar or artificial ingredients. Unfortunately, he noted, consumers are often much more swayed by what's on the front of the package than the back.

\"The FDA has done a really good job, but if you’ve got a particular tool, all you can do is make a better version of that tool – what if people can’t use that tool in the first place?\" he asked.

Labels will gradually change over the next two years before the deadline in July 2018 and even more changes may be on the way. The FDA is also looking at whether there should be more strict rules on when products can be labeled \"healthy\" or \"natural.\"

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Health/fda-announces-nutrition-label-change-20-years/story?id=39256092","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/fda-announces-nutrition-label-change-20-years-39256092","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"16:55","publishDate":"05-20-2016","updatedTime":"19:11","updatedDate":"05-20-2016","socialImage":{"alt":"The FDA today finalized the new Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods to reflect new scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease. The new label will make it easier for consumers to make better informed food choices. ","credit":"FDA","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Health/HT_FDA-label_jrl_160520_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"5/20/2016 16:55:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":39256092,"headline":"FDA Announces First Nutrition Label Change in 20 Years","mediaAssetTitle":"FDA LABELS","description":"Shoppers will soon see added sugar, new serving sizes on nutrition labels.","duration":"3:00","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/140227_gma_kerley_0710_,1200,1600,2000,2500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["37665339","22694659","39007307"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"March 15, 2016","headline":"First Lady Pushes Back Against Critics of Healthy Eating Efforts","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/lady-pushes-back-mock-healthy-food-exercise-efforts-37665339","id":37665339,"image":{"alt":"First Lady Pushes Back Against Critics of Healthy Eating Efforts","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/AP_michelle_obama_jef_160302_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"February 27, 2014","headline":"FDA to Change Food Labels, Serving Sizes","section":"news","slug":"/video/22694659","id":22694659,"image":{"alt":"FDA to Change Food Labels, Serving Sizes","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/140227_gma_kerley_5_mv.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"May 10, 2016","headline":"FDA Re-Evaluates Labels for 'Healthy,' 'Natural' Foods","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/fda-evaluates-labels-healthy-natural-foods-39007307","id":39007307,"image":{"alt":"FDA Re-Evaluates Labels for 'Healthy,' 'Natural' Foods","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Health/GTY_FDA_Healthy_Claim_jrl_160510_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Joe Raedle/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"FDA Announces First Nutrition Label Change in 20 Years","description":"Shoppers will soon see added sugar, new serving sizes on nutrition labels.","duration":"3:00","uploadDate":"05-20-2016","publication":"05-20-2016","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/140227_gma_kerley_0710_,1200,1600,2000,2500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/140227_gma_kerley_0710_,1200,1600,2000,2500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/fda-announces-nutrition-label-change-20-years-39256092"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132911765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132880952","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132873763","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132844494","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132840754","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132748964","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132636882","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132747869","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132738086","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132714218","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132701634","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132706335","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132675442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132665875","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132628890","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132569874","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132567885","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"FDA Announces First Nutrition Label Change in 20 Years","pubTime":"12:55","pubDate":"05-20-2016","modTime":"15:11","modDate":"05-20-2016","taxonomyTags":"none","id":39256092,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"FDA Announces First Nutrition Label Change in 20 Years","mediaAssetTitle":"FDA LABELS","videoId":39256092,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/fda-announces-nutrition-label-change-20-years-39256092"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/39256092","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/39256092","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};