Food and drug law requires that the ingredients in most foods be discl
osed on their labels, but until recently there was no requirement that
nutrition information be provided. The Nutrition Labeling and Educati
on Act of 1990 (NLEA), passed on November 8, 1990, mandated the Food a
nd Drug Administration to establish regulations requiring most foods t
o have a uniform nutrition label showing the amount of calories, calor
ies from fat, total fat, saturated fatty acids, cholesterol, total car
bohydrates, complex carbohydrates, sugars, fiber, protein, and sodium.
The Act also establishes the circumstances under which content claims
and disease claims may be made about nutrients in food. This paper br
iefly discusses recent changes in the food label brought about by the
NLEA and focuses on health claims on food labels.