Require Plain-English Ingredient Labels on FDA-Regulated Consumer Products

We are asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require consumer products under its authority that carry ingredient declarations to make those ingredient lists understandable to the average person.

Consumers encounter ingredient labels every day containing scientific, chemical, and industry terminology they may not recognize.

The information may technically be disclosed, but disclosure is far less useful when understanding it requires specialized scientific knowledge or stopping in the middle of a store to research individual ingredients.

Consumers shouldn’t need a chemistry education or Google search to understand what they’re putting in or on their bodies.

We propose a simple, standardized three-column ingredient system:

A — INGREDIENT
The ingredient’s current required name.

B — SIMPLE NAME
The simplest accurate, plain-English explanation of what it is.

C — WHY IT’S HERE
A short, plain-English explanation of why that ingredient was included in that specific product.

For example:

INGREDIENT - Ascorbic Acid

SIMPLE NAME - Vitamin C

WHY IT’S HERE - Color Preservation 

The same principle should apply beyond food.

A skincare, cosmetic, supplement, and/or other applicable FDA-regulated product shouldn’t become incomprehensible simply because its ingredients have complicated names.

And plain English needs to actually mean plain English.

Replacing one technical term with another—such as “humectant,” “sequestrant,” or “emulsifier”—doesn’t solve the problem.

Column C should say things an ordinary person can understand:

Keeps it moist.
Makes it thicker.
Adds color.
Prevents clumping.
Keeps ingredients mixed.
Helps it last longer.
Adds fragrance.
Electrolyte.

This proposal does not ask the FDA to label ingredients as “good” or “bad.”

It does not ask the FDA to ban ingredients simply because their names sound unfamiliar.

It asks for transparency and informed choice.

Consumers can decide for themselves whether they are comfortable with an ingredient once they understand what it is and why it’s there.

Greater transparency may also encourage manufacturers to reconsider unnecessary ingredients. When consumers can immediately understand why each ingredient was added, purchasing decisions may create a market incentive for companies to develop products consumers feel more comfortable buying.

This is fundamentally a consumer-right-to-understand issue.

If a company can put an ingredient in something we eat, drink, swallow, or put on our bodies, we should be able to understand what that ingredient is and why it’s there.

We are asking the FDA to establish a standardized plain-language ingredient-labeling system that answers three simple questions:

What is it called?

What is it?

Why is it here?

Americans already have the right to read many of the ingredients in the products they buy. We should also have the ability to understand them.