For consumers who actually read those nutrition labels before buying food products, a change may be in the offing. Let’s hope it proves to be a useful tool in helping people make healthier choices about the food they eat.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working to revise those nutrition facts labels, which are the listings of fats, salts, sugars and nutrients that have appeared on food packaging since 1992. The motivation — a good one — is to combat the national obesity epidemic by giving consumers more useful information.

Just how informative depends on how far the FDA goes. One is to make portion sizes listed on the labels more reflective of the portions people actually eat. For example, a 20-ounce soda bottle now lists 2.5 servings, but usually one person consumes a full bottle at a time. The new label also is expected to emphasize calories, a measure that many people use for trying to control their weight.

The current nutrition label has drawn criticism for being confusing. Critics also have complained that it doesn’t offer a simpler way to make a choice about whether the food product is good for them, something the food industry obviously would resist and probably would be a step too far.

The FDA should move forward with its food label plans. The agency is obligated to be fair to the food industry, but it has a bigger obligation to look out for the welfare of the American people. That means a new nutrition label should convey a clearer, more complete picture of what food products contain.

— Herald Dispatch, Huntington, W.Va., Sept. 8