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Nutrition labels on junk food will finally make more sense

February 27, 2014, U.S. first lady Michelle Obama announces proposed changes to food labels during an event in the East Room of the White House  in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The packaging on your favorite snack is getting a facelift -- or at least the nutrition label is.

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The Food and Drug Administration finalized new nutrition fact labels for packaged foods Friday, but you won't see them in stores until as late as 2018.

Some cosmetic changes include bigger font sizes and bolder type for calorie count and serving sizes. Another change will be serving sizes that reflect realistic portions. Some bottled beverages, many of which are completely consumed in one sitting, currently list serving sizes of less than half the amount of what's in the bottle.

You'll also be able to see how much sugar is being added to certain foods, a change that the sugar industry didn't to support.

The Sugar Association posted on its website that it's "disappointed by the Food and Drug Administration's ruling to require an 'added sugars' declaration."

"We are concerned that the ruling sets a dangerous precedent that is not grounded in science and could actually deter us from our shared goal of a healthier America," the association said.

Eating too much sugar has been linked to cardiovascular disease and childhood obesity. One study by the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found that 71.4 percent of adults "consumed 10 percent or more of calories (they consume) from added sugar."

The administration, or FDA, hopes the new labels will help consumers understand how much sugar is added to packaged foods and enable them to make better choices.

But some experts think the new labels don't go far enough.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest recommended that the FDA measure sugar in teaspoons instead of grams. Michael F. Jacobson, the president of the organization, told Vox, "People understand teaspoons so much more intuitively than grams."