After World War II, our food system started to change. Convenience food, preservatives, artificial colors, and new additives became common. What used to be simple ingredients from a kitchen slowly shifted into formulas created in a lab. In 1990, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act was passed. This is what made nutrition labels and ingredient lists mandatory on most packaged foods. Before that, brands did not have to disclose everything the way they do today. So it wasn’t just the labeling l