By Lawrence Reichman and Cassie Roberts (December 6, 2018, 1:31 PM EST) -- In May 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finalized changes to its Nutrition Facts labeling requirements and manufacturers are required to comply by Jan.1, 2020. Except for the addition of "trans fats" to the label in 2003,[1] the Nutrition Facts label provided on food products have remained virtually unchanged since their introduction in 1993. The current changes are based upon survey data, advances in nutritional science and new national health priorities, including obesity and diabetes, reflecting changes in the public health profile of the U.S. population. The FDA hopes to help consumers improve their health through diet and nutrition by updating the Nutrition Facts label to reflect current science and the latest nutrition recommendations and redesigning the label to make it easier for consumers to understand the nutritional information displayed on the label. In this article, we first summarize the changes, then suggest possible impacts of those changes on consumers and manufacturers....