SILVER SPRING, MD.  — The US Food and Drug Administration has launched an initiative designed to help consumers use the new Nutrition Facts Label appearing on packaged foods. The campaign called “What’s In It For You?” includes videos and educational materials.

“This campaign highlights that the new Nutrition Facts Label has been designed to assist consumers in making better informed food choices,” said Susan Mayne, Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “If a consumer wants to know how many calories there are in a serving, that information is now highlighted. If a consumer wants to choose a food with more vitamin D or less added sugars, that information is now right there on the label.”

The new Nutrition Facts Label features bold listings for serving sizes and calorie counts. Other changes are required listings for added sugars, vitamin D and potassium. A dual column version of the label is required for food packages that contain two to three servings that may be reasonably consumed at one time. One column lists the nutritional facts related to a single serving, and the other column lists nutritional facts for the contents of the entire package.

Food manufacturers with $10 million or more had until this January to begin using the new Nutrition Facts Label. Manufacturers with less than $10 million have until Jan. 1, 2021.