"New Food Labels: Confusing Or Helpful?"

MELISSA BLOCK, Host:

But as NPR's April Fulton reports, some experts say the new labels might be more confusing than helpful.

APRIL FULTON: Kelly Brownell runs the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale. He says people won't know what to make of all these boxes.

KELLY BROWNELL: Research has shown that the typical person lingers over a particular food item for only about three seconds, so to expect them to make use of a lot of symbols, I think, is wishful thinking.

FULTON: Scott Faber of the Grocery Manufacturers Association helped developed the food labels. He says consumers want nutrition information, but they want both the good and the bad, and they want specific numbers in the boxes, because they don't want to be told what to eat.

SCOTT FABER: It's not our place or government's place to tell them how a particular food fits into their diets.

FULTON: April Fulton, NPR News, Washington.