The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants consumers to know how much added sugar is in the foods and drinks they consume, but two food industry associations say the agency's recommendations are not based on science.

Added sugars are those not found naturally in foods but added when foods are processed or prepared. On Friday, FDA proposed requiring food companies to include on nutrition labels the percentage of recommended daily added sugars a food product contains. In other words, if a drink contains 70 percent of the amount of added sugars a person should consume in a day, that percentage would be found on the label.

"The FDA has a responsibility to give consumers the information they need to make informed dietary decisions for themselves and their families," said Susan Mayne, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "For the past decade, consumers have been advised to reduce their intake of added sugars, and the proposed percent daily value for added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label is intended to help consumers follow that advice." http://1.usa.gov/1VIWp6n

The Sugar Association was quick to criticize the proposed nutrition label change. In a statement, the association said the recommendation was based on "limited and weak scientific evidence" found in FDA's 2015 Dietary Guidelines report. As a result, the proposal "would not meet FDA's own high standards for scientific integrity."

"The fact is that the preponderance of science and the data on caloric sweeteners do not support a suggested limit on sugars intake," the group said. "The Sugar Association plans to submit comprehensive comments that will oppose this proposal and examine the level of scientific evidence at the basis of the misguided recommendation."

Also finding fault with added sugars label was the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which found the new standards "inadequate," according to the New York Times.

"Before FDA requires that a percent dietary value be declared for any nutrient, it must assure that the dietary value is based on intake levels evaluated through an independent, rigorous scientific process," the organization told the newspaper. http://nyti.ms/1fzS0le

FDA started accepting public comments on the proposed label change Monday, with comment period scheduled to last 75 days. http://1.usa.gov/1VIWp6n

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