119-s2462

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2462 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2462

 To strengthen requirements related to nutrient information on food 
 labels.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 July 24, 2025

Mr. Blumenthal introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 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) Use of the nutrition facts label is lower among 
 individuals with lower educational attainment and lower 
 incomes, and robust research shows that front-of-package labels 
 can be particularly beneficial for busy shoppers and for those 
 with less nutrition literacy.

    (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 for 
 consumers and their families.

    (5) Studies also show that front-of-package labeling can 
 improve consumers' understanding of the relative healthfulness 
 of different foods.

    (6) Public health organizations advise that children should 
 not consume non-nutritive sweeteners. Real-world evidence has 
 demonstrated that front-of-package labeling policies that 
 highlight high levels of sugar, sodium, and saturated fat, but 
 that do not disclose the presence of non-nutritive sweeteners, 
 are associated with the food industry reformulating products to 
 have lower levels of sugar, sodium, and saturated fat, but 
 increased levels of non-nutritive sweeteners.

    (7) Real-world evidence has demonstrated that front-of-
 package label policies that highlight high levels of sugar, 
 sodium, and saturated fat, and disclose the presence of non-
 nutritive sweeteners (with an advisory that children should 
 avoid them), are associated with the food industry reducing the 
 amount of sugar, sodium, saturated fat, and non-nutritive 
 sweeteners in their products.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR FRONT-OF-PACKAGE LABELING FOR FOODS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(referred to in this section as the ``Secretary'') shall finalize the 
proposed rule entitled ``Food Labeling: Front-of-Package Nutrition 
Information'' (90 Fed. Reg. 5426 (January 16, 2025)).

    (b) Requirements.--

    (1) In general.--The final rule required by subsection

    (a) shall require a food (as defined in 

section 201

    (f) of the 
 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321

    (f) )) 
 intended for human consumption and offered for sale to bear 
 nutrition labeling that includes the following:
        (A) A label on the principal display panel that 
 details and identifies high amounts of added sugars, 
 sodium, or saturated fat, as applicable. Such principal 
 display panel shall include a separate label for each 
 such nutrient, as applicable. Such labels shall 
 designate high amounts of added sugars, sodium, or 
 saturated fat based on Daily Reference Values for 
 adults, children ages 1 to 3 years, and infants through 
 age 12 months, as applicable. Such labels shall include 
 the words ``High in'' and a conspicuous exclamation 
 point icon.
        (B) If applicable, a statement on the principle 
 display panel that declares that the food contains non-
 nutritive sweeteners, with a factual statement that 
 non-nutritive sweeteners are not recommended for 
 children. Such statement shall appear adjacent to the 
 one or more ``High in'' labels described in 
 subparagraph
        (A) , if applicable.

    (2) Application to foods for children.--Notwithstanding 
 

section 101.9

    (j)

    (5) of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations 
 (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act), the 
 labeling requirements described in subparagraphs
        (A) and
        (B) of 
 paragraph

    (1) shall apply to foods, other than infant formula, 
 that are represented or purported to be specifically for 
 infants through 12 months of age and children 1 through 3 years 
 of age.
            (c) Daily Reference Values and Percent Daily Values.--

    (1) In general.--In carrying out subsections

    (a) and

    (b) , 
 the Secretary shall establish Daily Reference Values and 
 percent Daily Values for added sugars, sodium, and saturated 
 fat for infants through 12 months of age and update the Daily 
 Reference Values and percent Daily Values for added sugars, 
 sodium, and saturated fat for children 1 through 3 years of age 
 in alignment with the recommendations in the 2020-2025 Dietary 
 Guidelines for Americans published by the Secretary and the 
 Secretary of Agriculture.

    (2) No delay in finalizing rule.--
        (A) In general.--If the Secretary determines that 
 establishing Daily Reference Values and percent Daily 
 Values as described in paragraph

    (1) for inclusion in 
 the final rule required by subsection

    (a) would prevent 
 the issuance of such final rule by the deadline 
 described in such subsection, the Secretary shall issue 
 such final rule before establishing such Daily 
 Reference Values and percent Daily Values.
        (B) Revisions.--If the Secretary finalizes the rule 
 as required by subsection

    (a) before establishing Daily 
 Reference Values and percent Daily Values, as described 
 in subparagraph
        (A) , the Secretary, as soon as 
 practicable after establishing such Daily Reference 
 Values and percent Daily Values, shall revise such 
 final rule to include such Daily Reference Values and 
 percent Daily Values.
            (d) Limitation.--Nothing in this section or in the final rule 
required by subsection

    (a) shall prevent the Secretary from revising 
paragraph

    (4) of 

section 101.61

    (b) of title 21, Code of Federal 
Regulations, to update the limit for the low sodium nutrient content 
claim to 115 milligrams per reference amount customarily consumed or 
paragraph

    (5) of such section to update the limit for the low sodium 
nutrient content claim to 115 milligrams per 100 grams, to align with 
current nutrition science.
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