Manufacturers: Food Labeling Bill Would Increase Costs, Uncertainty

A new food labeling bill would increase costs for Americans without providing valuable, scientifically substantiated nutritional information. Manufacturers are urging policymakers to reject this measure, as the NAM said yesterday.

The background: The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved S. 5026 this week, a bill that would require warning labels for food that contains specific ingredients that the government judges to be dangerous, such as salt, sugar, saturated fat or sweeteners, or meets the criteria of so-called “ultra-processed”—a designation that does not have scientific consensus.

• Despite its well-intentioned name, the Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act won’t improve children’s health outcomes. It duplicates existing industry efforts that are working, enriches trial attorneys, increases consumer confusion and raises costs on families already facing a tough affordability environment.

The NAM says: “Manufacturers support efforts to protect public health and give consumers clearer information, but legislation linking specific ingredients and food-processing methods to health risks without the rigorous evidence such claims require risks unfairly targeting nutritious products, creating confusion and raising costs at a time when affordability matters most,” said NAM Executive Vice President Erin Streeter in a statement.

• “Congress should reject this approach and pursue science-based solutions that deliver clarity, affordability and meaningful public health outcomes for American families.”