[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6766 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6766
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to strengthen
requirements related to nutrient information on food labels.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 13, 2023
Ms. Schakowsky introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
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A BILL
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to strengthen
requirements related to nutrient information on food labels.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Transparency, Readability,
Understandability, Truth, and Helpfulness in Labeling Act'' or the
``TRUTH in Labeling Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The average American consumes substantially more added
sugars, sodium, and saturated fat than is recommended by the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans published under section 301 of
the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of
1990 (7 U.S.C. 5341), potentially increasing their risk for
hypertension, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease.
(2) A large body of experimental and real-world evidence
has demonstrated that front-of-package labels that highlight
high levels of added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat can
significantly improve the nutritional quality of foods that
consumers purchase or select.
(3) Use of the nutrition facts label is lower among
individuals with lower educational attainment and lower
incomes, and robust research shows that front-of-package labels
can be particularly beneficial for busy shoppers and for those
with less nutrition literacy.
(4) Front-of-package nutrition labeling gives consumers
quick and easy access to key information about the
healthfulness of foods and can support healthier choices.
(5) Studies also show that front-of-package labeling can
improve consumers' understanding of the relative healthfulness
of different foods.
SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR FRONT-OF-PACKAGE LABELING FOR
FOODS.
(a) Interpretive Nutrition Information.--Section 403 of the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(z)(1) Except as provided in subparagraphs (3), (4), and (5) of
paragraph (q), if it is food intended for human consumption and is
offered for sale and otherwise required to bear nutrition labeling,
unless its principal display panel bears interpretive nutrition
information.
``(2) Final regulations regarding the interpretive nutrition
information required under subparagraph (1) shall meet the following
criteria:
``(A) There shall be a standardized symbol system that
displays calorie information related to the serving size
determined under paragraph (q)(1)(A) and interpretative
nutrition information related to the content of any nutrients
that the Secretary determines the highlighting of which will
assist consumers in maintaining healthy dietary practices (such
as added sugars, sodium, or saturated fat), including by
highlighting products containing high levels of such nutrients.
``(B) The information shall--
``(i) appear in a consistent location on the
principal display panels across products;
``(ii) have a prominent design that visually
contrasts with existing packaging design; and
``(iii) be sufficiently large to be easily legible.
``(3) In promulgating regulations regarding the interpretive
nutrition information required under subparagraph (1) and the
standardized symbol system required under subparagraph (2)(A), the
Secretary shall take into account published reports by the Health and
Medicine Division of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine regarding such information, and base regulations on the
following principles:
``(A) Consumers should be able to quickly and easily
comprehend the meaning of the system as an indicator of a
product's contribution to a healthy diet without requiring
specific or sophisticated nutritional knowledge.
``(B) The nutrition information should be consistent with
the Nutrition Facts Panel and with the recommendations of the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
``(C) The information should be provided to facilitate
consumer selection of healthy product options, including among
nutritionally at-risk subpopulations.
``(D) The Secretary should periodically evaluate the
standardized symbol system to assess its effectiveness in
providing information to facilitate consumer selection of
healthy product options and the extent to which manufacturers
are offering healthier products as a result of the disclosure.
``(E) The implementation of the information disclosure
should be accompanied by appropriate consumer education and
promotion campaigns determined by the Secretary.''.
(b) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the effective
date specified in final regulations issued by the Secretary
pursuant to section 4(b), the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall
submit to Congress a report that--
(A) evaluates whether implementation of the
amendment made by subsection (a) has been associated
with an increase in the prevalence of products
containing low- or no-calorie sweeteners in the United
States food supply; and
(B) describes actions that will be taken by the
Secretary to quantify the levels of low- and no-calorie
sweeteners in such products, if there has been an
increase described in subparagraph (A).
(2) Update.--Not later than 3 years after completion of the
report described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit
to Congress an update to such report based on more recent data.
SEC. 4. REGULATIONS.
(a) Proposed Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue proposed regulations
to carry out the amendment made by section 3(a).
(b) Final Regulations.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall finalize the regulations
proposed pursuant to subsection (a), which regulations shall specify
the date on which the amendment made by section 3(a) shall take effect.
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