Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rolled out food labels revised for the first time in 20 years. The nutrition facts labels are designed to be easier to read and reflect a more realistic understanding of the way Americans eat today, NBC News reports.

 

Companies will debut the new labels on their food packages this summer. The labels feature a slightly larger and bolder typeface and are required to reflect more accurate portion sizes for a wide array of foods. New rules will also mandate that food manufacturers include more information about added sugars and the types of fat in their products; a breakdown of how much vitamin D, potassium, calcium and iron they contain is also required. The daily values for sodium have also been substantially lowered, and information on vitamins A and C will no longer be required on the labels.

 

The FDA worked on these new, consumer-friendly labels for years, and experts say they are based on the latest developments in nutritional science. “Very soon you will no longer need a microscope, a calculator or a degree in nutrition to figure out whether the food that you’re buying is actually good for your kids, so that’s a phenomenal achievement,” said First Lady Michelle Obama.

 

Mrs. Obama recently announced the new label design at a Washington, DC, event highlighting her ongoing national anti-obesity initiative, “Let’s Move.”

 

According to the FDA, most food manufacturers will be required to display the revised nutrition label on their products by July 26, 2018.

 

To learn more about the upcoming nutrition label changes, click here.