TOLEDO, Ohio — If you've taken a look at nutrition labels lately, you've probably noticed some changes. That's because the FDA instated new requirements for nutrition labels that are now officially in effect.
One big change is the calories are fairly prominent.
"There's going to be a different kind of font for the calories. It's going to kind of pop out at you at the top," said Theresa Bonfiglio, a Registered Dietitian with Mercy Health Weight Management.
Another big change is portion size. Gone are the days of two cookies per serving. In many cases you'll see the full calorie count per package.
"I think probably with all the larger packaging it's helpful for people to see realistically how much of this package should I be eating," said Bonfiglio.
Bonfiglio said another area that's helpful with the new nutrition label requirements is the area that highlights added sugars.
"Our patients used to have to mine through the ingredient list to find those added sugars. They were disguised as brown rice syrup or agave. So people would be fooled into thinking 'well, agave sounds healthy right?" said Bonfiglio.
When you see the grams of added sugars, Bonfiglio recommends dividing that number by four to see how many teaspoons that is, which could result in an "aha" moment.
"You're like, 'wow, I wouldn't put six teaspoons in this if I was at home,''' said Bonfiglio.