HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH)– Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined advocates in Hartford Wednesday to announce legislation aimed at increasing the transparency of food labels.

The Transparency, Readability, Understandability, Truth and Helpfulness (TRUTH) in Labeling Act intends to make nutrition information more accessible to all consumers by directing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to create new front-of-package labels for foods and beverages.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says an unhealthy diet is one of the leading risks for the Global Burden of Disease.

Creating transparency in food labeling, they say, would allow consumers to make more educated dietary decisions.

“The key is front-of-package labeling, so you don’t need a GPS to find the label, and a magnifying glass to read it and a scientific advisor to understand the chemicals,” said Blumenthal.

“We’ve talked to parents,” said Fran Fleming-Milici, the Director of Marketing Initiatives at the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health. “They tell us that they’ve purchased a product when grocery shopping, then realized later when unpacking the groceries at home that the product they purchased contained something that they don’t want to give their children.”

They say that claims and other marketing messages on the front of packages often mislead consumers to think that what they buy for their children are healthy choices.