Are you bored with the Nutrition Facts panel on packaged foods? The latest National Eating Trends survey from market-research firm the NPD Group finds that usage of the government-mandated nutrition labeling has declined. When the labeling was first introduced in the mid-1990s, 61% of respondents said they frequently check the Nutrition Facts on foods they buy. Now that number has sagged to a low of 50%. Says an NPD analyst, If there is one clear message that consumers are trying to send, its that the label has grown tired and uninteresting. When consumers do check Nutrition Facts, they say theyre looking to avoid (in order) calories, total fat, sugar, sodium and calories from fat. (The high ranking of total fat, which some experts argue should be deleted from the labeling, attests to the persistence of the myth that low fat always means healthy. See the March Healthletter for the facts from Tufts experts.) The FDA is currently looking at revised guidelines for frontof- package labeling to supplement the Nutrition Facts back panel, and the food industry recently went ahead with its own package-front nutrition system (see page 1).