The idea of requiring nutrition labels on the front of food packages to disclose sugar and fat content is getting increased attention ahead of the first White House conference in more than half a century on hunger and nutrition policy.
An official task force report informing the conference has included front-of-package nutrition labels in its recommended policy actions. “It would be really silly not to take what was in those recommendations very, very seriously,” said Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association.
The report specifically calls upon the Food and Drug Administration to “develop an effective front-of-package (FOP) labeling scheme that uses or is based on a transparent, uniform, and science-based nutrient profiling system or specific nutritional parameters.”

February 25, 2026
Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association, which represents the industry on scientific matters, said at the International Sweetener Colloquium. “It is really easy to regulate sugar. You can get easy wins for sugar,” Gaine said as she others discussed the impact of the MAHA movement. “The narrative is: The government and food […]

February 20, 2026
Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association, a scientific body which supports the U.S. sugar industry, told the USDA Outlook Forum that the school meal standards taking effect next year might prohibit added sugars in kindergarten meals and significantly restrict them in other grades. That change alone would cut sugar demand by over […]

January 10, 2026
The health secretary’s new dietary guidelines tell parents to cut the added sugar until their kids turn 11. “Misleading rhetoric “declaring war” on and creating unsubstantiated fear about a real ingredient like real sugar will not improve children’s health,” said Courtney Gaine, the association’s president and CEO, in a statement. “Real sugar — which comes […]
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