,,ii #aahth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ceab ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #ac1 #bjbc,mr4 ,blumenthal 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 and ,mr4 ,markey7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,federal ,food1 ,drug1 and ,cosmetic ,act to strengthen requirements related to nutrient information on food labels4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,transparency1 ,readability1 ,understandability1 ,truth1 and ,helpfulness in ,labeling ,act or the ,,truth in ,labeling ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the average ,american consumes substantially more added sugars1 sodium1 and saturated fat than is recommended by the ,dietary ,guidelines for ,americans published under section #cja of the ,national ,nutrition ,monitoring and ,related ,research ,act of #aiij 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #ecda71 potentially increasing their risk for hypertension1 type-#b diabetes1 and heart disease4 7#b7 ,a large body of experimental and real-world evidence has demonstrated that front-of-package labels that highlight high levels of added sugars1 sodium1 and saturated fat can significantly improve the nutritional quality of foods that consumers purchase or select4 7#c7 ,simplified1 contextual information on a food package that compliments the ,nutrition ,facts label can help consumers make healthy food choices4 ,robust research shows that front-of-package nutrition labels can be particularly beneficial for busy shoppers and for those with lower nutrition knowledge4 7#d7 ,front-of-package nutrition labeling gives consumers quick and easy access to key information about the healthfulness of foods and can support healthier choices4 7#e7 ,studies also show that front-of-package labeling can improve consumers' understanding of the relative healthfulness of different foods4 #c4 ,additional requirements for front-of-package labeling for foods 7a7 ,interpretive nutrition information ,section #djc of the ,federal ,food1 ,drug1 and ,cosmetic ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #cdc7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7z7 7#a7 ,except as provided in subparagraphs 7#c71 7#d71 and 7#e7 of paragraph 7q71 if it is food intended for human consumption and is offered for sale and otherwise required to bear nutrition labeling1 unless its principal display panel bears interpretive nutrition information4 7#b7 ,final regulations regarding the interpretive nutrition information required under subparagraph 7#a7 shall meet the following criteria3 7,a7 ,there shall be a standardized symbol system that displays calorie information related to the serving size determined under paragraph 7q77#a77;,a7 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 7such as added sugars1 sodium1 or saturated fat71 including by highlighting products containing high levels of such nutrients4 7,b7 ,the information shall-- 7i7 appear in a consistent location on the principal display panels across products2 7ii7 have a prominent design that visually contrasts with existing packaging design2 and 7iii7 be sufficiently large to be easily legible4 7#c7 ,in promulgating regulations regarding the interpretive nutrition information required under subparagraph 7#a7 and the standardized symbol system required under subparagraph 7#b77;,a71 the ,secretary shall take into account published reports by the ,health and ,medicine ,division of the ,national ,academy of ,sciences1 ,engineering1 and ,medicine regarding such information1 and base regulations on the following principles3 7,a7 ,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 knowledge4 7,b7 ,the information should be provided to facilitate consumer selection of healthy product options1 including among nutritionally at-risk subpopulations4 7,c7 ,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 disclosure4 7,d7 ,the implementation of the information disclosure should be accompanied by appropriate consumer education and promotion campaigns determined by the ,secretary4 4 7b7 ,report 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #e years after the effective date specified in final regulations issued by the ,secretary pursuant to section #d7;b71 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services 7referred to in this ,act as the ,secretary7 shall submit to ,congress a report that-- 7,a7 evaluates whether implementation of the amendment made by subsection 7a7 has been associated with an increase in the prevalence of products containing low- or no-calorie sweeteners in the ,united ,states food supply2 and 7,b7 describes actions that will be taken by the ,secretary to further monitor the use of low- and no-calorie sweeteners in such products1 if there has been an increase described in subparagraph 7,a74 7#b7 ,update ,not later than #c years after completion of the report described in paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress an update to such report based on more recent data4 #d4 ,regulations 7a7 ,proposed regulations ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall issue proposed regulations to carry out the amendment made by section #c7;a74 7b7 ,final regulations ,not later than #c years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall finalize the regulations proposed pursuant to subsection 7a71 which regulations shall specify the date on which the amendment made by section #c7;a7 shall take effect4