Senators introduce legislation to promote transparent food labels

The Food Labeling Modernization Act of 2026, introduced today by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), would overhaul food labels for the first time in more than 30 years. Current labels do not provide the information consumers need to make healthy food choices.

Mandatory front-of-package warnings on foods that are high in added sugar, sodium, or saturated fat are among the many ways this legislation would bring U.S. food labels into alignment with labels from other countries that have implemented bold policies to address diet-related chronic disease. The bill would also require prominent warnings on foods containing non-nutritive sweeteners stating that foods with these ingredients are not recommended for children. Front-of-package warnings on ultra-processed foods have taken on new energy in Congress this year, with another warnings bill (the Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act) advanced by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions last week. The FLMA provides an important contribution to the movement to improve our food system by highlighting the central importance of nutrient warnings in identifying harmful processed foods.

The FLMA was first introduced in 2013 and has led to related efforts to improve food labeling through the passage of bipartisan legislation. A new provision in the FLMA of 2026 would address the rise of conflicting and confusing "Non-UPF" claims. Such claims are currently unregulated, but there are already at least three "non-UPF" certifications on the market, each with different standards for what processing methods, ingredients, and nutrients affect a product's eligibility to be certified as non-UPF. The FLMA would direct FDA to create an official definition of "non-UPF," and would prevent foods that do not meet FDA's definition of the term "healthy" from using "non-UPF" claims, as the claims could connote misleading health halos.

Additional provisions of the FLMA would address misleading claims about whole grain, fruit, and vegetable content in highly processed foods, require that product information be made available for online grocery shoppers, protect people with celiac disease by requiring gluten disclosure, require transparent disclosure of all ingredients instead of allowing vague catchall terms like "artificial flavor," "natural flavor," and "spices" in the ingredients list, and more.

"Federal food labeling laws are not aligned with the transparency that Americans from across the political spectrum are demanding," said CSPI senior policy scientist Eva Greenthal. "It's time for Congress to pass bold legislation that will give people the information they need to make healthy choices."

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Tags

• Warning Label
• Food Labeling
• Food and Drug Administration
• Ultraprocessed Foods
• Saturated Fat
• Added Sugars

Topics

• Food Labeling

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