Consumers need a user-friendly tool to make the right decisions regarding the best food choices. The nutritional labeling of packed food is a much-discussed point by all of the actors involved, starting with the food producers and distributors and continuing with the food policy organisms and consumers. The information that should appear on the package differs according to the opinions of the different actors involved, but there are also differences between continents—especially the U.S. and the EU—as well as between EU countries.
The bodies responsible for drawing up the guidelines for the nutrition labeling of packaged foods are the World Health Organization (WHO) at a global level, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/WHO Food Standards Program; EU Commission bodies for the EU, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the U.S.