The labeling of food products that we commonly consume has undergone a redesign in Mexico, reconsidering the way warnings are signaled when a food is high in sodium, calories, sugars, or fats, with the aim of informing consumers so that, in theory, they can make better decisions about what they consume.
The history of food labeling is truly recent and dates back practically to the second half of the twentieth century. Nutritional labels are the result of a transition not only in our relationship with food, but also in how the production and consumption of food have been regulated and modified. Before the first half of the twentieth century, although packaged foods existed, labels detailing their ingredients or nutritional value were virtually nonexistent.
As consumption habits shifted toward ready-to-eat foods or foods with modified ingredients, the need to develop, through legislation and regulation, labels listing the ingredients contained in a food began to be considered in the United States. In 1972, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed that nutritional information be included on food labels. Until this moment, the inclusion of nutritional information was entirely voluntary for food manufacturers, and only if the label promoted a health benefit was the inclusion of nutritional information mandatory. It is noteworthy that at this point, the use of labels was not perceived as a necessity for the general population to limit the consumption of certain ingredients that are harmful in excess, nor to alert about the caloric content of a food. Labels were promoted more for the inclusion of micronutrients that could address deficiencies in certain individuals.
Gradual changes in the content of nutritional labels are also the result of advances in nutritional science. Research and the establishment of Recommended Daily Intakes was a key element, as in the seventies it was decided that this information should also be included on labels, since it was assumed that knowing the proportion of daily recommended intake covered by a product would better guide consumers. Additionally, as the general population received more information about nutrients (whether correct or incorrect, but it became common knowledge), the FDA felt the need to regulate nutritional content in a mandatory way.
The design of the nutritional information label also originated in the United States and has been replicated worldwide. The label designer, Burkey Belser, created it free of charge with the aim of combating the scarcity of certain nutrients that could be problematic during times of war or famine. Over time, the uses of labels would take another direction, oriented precisely toward alerting about excess consumption of certain nutrients or the harmfulness of certain ingredients contained in products. At all times, understanding and interpreting label information has been one of the major challenges in making information accessible to the population.
— This article was originally published in Spanish by Liliana Martínez Lomelí. Translation generated with AI from the original text.
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