The Food and Drug Administration rolled out its long-anticipated new food labels Friday, and they'll include new details on how much sugar is in food and reflect the sad fact that Americans eat more than they used to.

The new FDA food labels will be bigger, bolder and have a little more information (Photo: FDA)

They won't look much different from the old labels, but they'll have to use slightly larger and bolder type, and they will make sure that customers aren't fooled into thinking a giant bag of potato chips only has a quarter of the calories, fat and salt that it really does.

That's because many of the new labels will have to reflect what people really eat, not what they should eat. So even if a package of caramel corn is meant to serve six, the label will have to acknowledge that it's most likely going to be scarfed down by a single person.

"In addition to added sugars, new nutrients that must be declared include Vitamin D, which is important in bone development, and potassium, which is good for controlling blood pressure; both nutrients of which people aren't getting enough," FDA administrator Dr. Robert Califf said in a blog post.

"This is not about telling people what they should eat. It's about making sure that they know what they're eating," Califf added.

Here's what's different about the new FDA food labels (Photo: FDA)

"Most food manufacturers will be required to use the new label by July 26, 2018," the FDA said.

First Lady Michelle Obama was rolled out the new label design at a Washington, D.C. event highlighting her "Let's Move" initiative Friday morning.

"Very soon you will no longer need a microscope, a calculator or a degree in nutrition to figure out whether the food that you're buying is actually good for your kids, so that's a phenomenal achievement," Obama said.

The FDA has been working on these label requirements for years, and has been negotiating with the food industry, other government agencies and consumer groups on just how far they can go.
""Package size affects what people eat.""

FDA officials want labels based on the latest science - and that means helping people cut back on sugar, salt and fat. But the agency has had to negotiate an onslaught of public comment, all of which had to be considered in finalizing the new requirements.

That includes new recommendations that people cut back on sugar.

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By Maggie Fox

Source: NBC