Soda, Sugary Drinks Should Carry Warning Labels, Consumer Groups Say

Sweetened soft drinks are the single largest contributor of calories to the American diet and consumers will benefit from health warnings on soda bottles and cans, according to an advocacy group that is petitioning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to require new labeling messages.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, together with several health organizations, state agencies, and prominent scientists and nutrition experts, sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, reviving a comprehensive petition the group filed to the agency in 2005. The letter urges regulators to use their authority to raise public awareness of the hazards of excessive consumption of all beverages with more than 1.1 grams per ounce of sugar, high-fructose corn syrup or other added caloric sweeteners.