Consensus In Labeling Standards

A consensus emerged in the early 1990s on the need for a general overhaul of labeling require- ments for food products (see, e.g., U.S. De- partment of Health and Human Services 1990a, 1990b; National Academy of Sciences 1990, 1991). The central argument of the present ar- ticle is that, in rewriting label regulations, pol- icy makers should consider the benefits and costs of several important roles that labels play be- yond their direct use as a consumer shopping aid.