New Nutrition Labels On Meat

There will soon be a change at the grocery store that you might not notice right away, but it could go a long way towards a healthy diet.

The government is going to start requiring nutrition labels on the meats you buy at the grocery store, and the information the packaging will have can help you figure out healthier options.

For years most packaged foods have had the familiar black and white label on them that spell out calories per serving. It also breaks that down into different types of fat---like saturated and unsaturated fats. But up until now when you looked at a meat label you only saw the weight and price.

That's about to change. The USDA is requiring that by 2012 these same facts other packages have will be on meat as well. The labels will spell out total calories, calories from fat, total grams of fat and total grams of saturated fat. It will also show the amount of cholesterol, sodium, protein and vitamins in the particular type of meat.

With this new information you'll be able to figure out better choices for you and your family, for example cutting back on saturated fats and sodium in the meat choices you make. But you'll have to be an even more persistent label reader from now on to do it.