"The original icon was a bit misleading, e.g., all fats are bad," Dr. Sara Bleich, an assistant professor of public health at Johns Hopkins University, told ABC News. 

USDA spent $2 million to design and promote the plate, the Times reported. Will this costly venture cause Americans to eat better?

Dr. Robert C. Post, deputy director of the USDA, told the Times that he hopes the new visual will prompt "consumers to say, 'I need to be a little more concerned about what I choose to build a healthy day's diet.' "