[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3512 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3512

    To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to strengthen 
      requirements related to nutrient information on food labels.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 13, 2023

   Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mr. Booker, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. 
    Markey) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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) Simplified, contextual information on a food package 
        that compliments the Nutrition Facts label can help consumers 
        make healthy food choices. Robust research shows that front-of-
        package nutrition labels can be particularly beneficial for 
        busy shoppers and for those with lower nutrition knowledge.
            (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 information should be provided to facilitate 
        consumer selection of healthy product options, including among 
        nutritionally at-risk subpopulations.
            ``(C) 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.
            ``(D) 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 5 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 further monitor the use 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 2 years 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 3 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.