From Label to Table: Regulating Food in America in the Information Age (Volume 82)

by Xaq Frohlich

How did the Nutrition Facts label come to appear on millions of everyday American household food products? As Xaq Frohlich reveals, this legal, scientific, and seemingly innocuous strip of information can be a prism through which to view the high-stakes political battles and development of scientific ideas that have shaped the realms of American health, nutrition, and public communication. By tracing policy debates at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Frohlich describes the emergence of our present information age in food and diet markets and examines how powerful government offices inform the public about what they consume. From Label to Table explores evolving popular ideas about food, diet, and responsibility for health that have influenced what goes on the Nutrition Facts label—and who gets to decide that.

312 pages, Hardcover

Published October 17, 2023

About the author

Xaq Frohlich is an associate professor of history of technology at Auburn University. He is trained in history and STS, and his research focuses on the intersection of science, law, and markets, and how the three have shaped modern, everyday understandings of food, risk, and responsibility. He is author of From Label to Table: Regulating Food in America in the Information Age (UC Press, 2023), which gives a biography of the food label, from the U.S. FDA’s food standards to the use of informative labels (such as Nutrition Facts) today.

Reviews

[A. Susana Ramírez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Xaq Frohlich’s From Label to Table: Regulating Food in America in the Information Age, (University of California Press, 2023) is the best book I read all year (academic year 2023-24). I can’t wait to teach a grad class on food policy because this is definitely going to be a core text.

Like most titles in UC Press’ California Studies in Food and Culture series, From Label to Table is written in an engaging, accessible style and is wonderfully transdisciplinary. There’s a terrific amount about the history of labeling foods in the US, alongside a critical analysis of how certain types of food facts were privileged, and the consequences of such privileging on the development of public understanding of “safe” and “healthy” foods. Frohlich’s analysis focuses on three kinds of experts who shape the information environment in which people make decisions. I’ve written a lot about the consequences of the information environment myself, so this was particularly interesting to me.

Mini review from my blog: https://desperatelyseeking.substack.c...

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! There is a lot of specific information about food labeling but explained in a way that people like me, who are not necessarily experts in the field, find it interesting, engaging and even fun!

Spoiler alert! I particularly enjoy reading about the debate between the American Medical Association, the FDA and the general consumer’s access to information. Even though it happened in the 60s it resonates with the new era of information overload that we live in.

[Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book offers a unique perspective, providing history of the US labelling paradigms before summarising the current state of play and potential future directions. Written in a great way and easy to understand, a must read for anyone interested in labelling or working in regulatory affairs!