Important nutrition facts may soon appear on the front of food labels, hopes the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute, who this week announced a new labeling system called "Nutrition Keys" to make important health data that much more accessible.

Nutrition Keys, which is voluntary, asks food producers to display calories, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar content on the front of food packages; currently nutrition facts appear on the back of most food products.

Healthcare and America’s obesity epidemic have been high priorities for President Obama.

On March 23, he signed a law that requires the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement a federal menu labeling program, which applies to certain restaurants, coffee shops, delis, movie theaters, bakeries, ice cream shops and vending machines.

Specifically:

• Facilities with 20+ locations that offer substantially the same menu must list calorie content on interior and drive-through menus and menu boards.
• Other nutrition information—total calories, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates, sugars, dietary fiber and total protein—must be made available in writing, upon request.
• Vending operators with 20+ machines must disclose products’ calorie content.

The FDA must issue proposed regulations by March 2011. In the meantime, the agency has invited consumers, the food industry, state and local governments, and other interested parties to submit comments and suggestions. The deadline is Sept. 7.

Take the opportunity to get involved. To view the full document and submit comments electronically, click here.

It's doubly bad when it comes to diet and health. We don't read the instructions. My grandmother has been drinking a tall frosty glass of Slim Fast before breakfast for 30 years and she still hasn't lost a pound.

So it's not surprising that a new study says people think “organic” automatically means low-calorie.

Organic is like everything else, some food is healthier than others. I love Late July Dark chocolate cookies. Seriously, try to take my cookies away from me and I'll murder you. But even though Late July is organic, those cookies aren't low-calorie...at all.

Regular Chips Ahoy cookies have 160 calories per serving. Serving size is just three cookies. But three Late July cookies only narrowly edge out the Chips Ahoy, with 150 calories per serving; so organic yes, health food no.

As for the study, it appears in the journal Judgment and Decision Making and involved 215 college students - typically known for their smart decisions. Ha!

Researchers presented the students with two types of cookies; labeled “Oreo cookies” or “Oreo cookies made with organic flour and sugar,” both were clearly marked as containing 160 calories.

And guess what? Students perceived the cookies labeled “organic” had fewer calories and admitted they would eat more of them.

But it's not organic's fault. Nutritional neglect is a tale as old as time. We print nutrition facts on everything, but the United States is still double-chin deep in an obesity epidemic.

Image credit: grist