The United States Food and Drug Administration(FDA) has proposed the inclusion of percent daily value (%DV) for added sugars on the health labels of packed foods, making consumers aware of the amount of sugar added on a product just like other certain fats and sodium.

Under the said proposal, "added sugars" or sugar not already present in the food before its production and packaging, should be indicated in labels to aid people in making informed choices with regards to their health and their families. The percent daily value would be based on the recommended daily intake of calories from added sugars which is not more than 10 percent of total calories, Imperial Valley News reported.

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Children age four and above and adults are recommended by the FDA to limit their added sugar intake to 50 grams per day.

"The FDA has a responsibility to give consumers the information they need to make informed dietary decisions for themselves and their families," Susan Mayne, Director of the agency's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition said.

"For the past decade, consumers have been advised to reduce their intake of added sugars, and the proposed percent daily value for added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label is intended to help consumers follow that advice," Mayne noted.

According to her, the proposal stemmed from issues concerning the health impact of sugar in diets.

Furthermore, the FDA suggests altering the current footnote on the Nutrition Facts label making it shorter to give more space to line saying: *The percent daily value (%DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Meanwhile, the FDA's proposal was immediately opposed by the food and beverage industries with the Sugar Associations issuing a statement accusing FDA of "making assertions that lack adequate scientific evidence" in creating their motion, as per Tech Times.

The statement claimed that the FDA's propositions are based on the "limited and weak" scientific evidence in the US government's 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

"The fact is that the preponderance of science and the data on caloric sweeteners do not support a suggested limit on sugars intake," it asserted.

The FDA proposal on added sugar content is still open for public comment for 75 days and is still subject for revisions before it is formally implemented, Christian Today has learned.

TagsSugar guide, FDA, health labels, nutrition fact labels