The FDA announces a new definition of what's 'healthy'
The Food and Drug Administration announced new rules Wednesday for nutrition labels that can go on the front of food packages to indicate that they are "healthy."
Under the proposal, manufacturers can label their products "healthy" if they contain a meaningful amount of food from at least one of the food groups or subgroups (such as fruit, vegetable or dairy) recommended by the dietary guidelines. They must also adhere to specific limits for certain nutrients, such as saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. For example, a cereal would need to contain three-quarters of an ounce of whole grains and no more than 1 gram of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium and 2.5 grams of added sugars per serving for a food manufacturer to use the word "healthy" on the label.
The labels are aimed at helping consumers more easily navigate nutrition labels and make better choices at the grocery store. The proposed rule would align the definition of the "healthy" claim with current nutrition science, the updated Nutrition Facts label and the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the FDA said.
The agency also is developing a symbol that companies can voluntarily use to label food products that meet federal guidelines for the term "healthy."
The announcement came ahead of Wednesday's White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. The conference was the first of its kind since 1969, when a summit hosted by the administration of President Richard M. Nixon led to major expansions of food stamps, school lunches and other programs that have been credited with reducing hunger nationally and providing a critical safety net during the pandemic.
Once finalized, the FDA's new system will "quickly and easily communicate nutrition information" through tools such as "star ratings or traffic light schemes to promote equitable access to nutrition information and healthier choices," the White House said in a statement this week. The system "can also prompt industry to reformulate their products to be healthier," it said, by adding more vegetables or whole grains or developing new products to meet the updated definition.
The stakes are high.
Six in 10 American adults have chronic lifestyle-related diseases, often stemming from obesity and poor diet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says these diseases are the leading cause of death and disability and a leading driver in the nation's $4.1 trillion of annual health-care costs.
And the obesity epidemic is not moving in the right direction: Studies show that obesity, especially among children, rose significantly during the pandemic, with the greatest change among children ages 5 to 11, who gained an average of more than five pounds. Before the pandemic, about 36 percent of 5- to 11-year-olds were considered overweight or obese; during the pandemic, that increased to 45.7 percent.
In some Latin American countries, governments have instituted stricter food labeling laws, pushing back against sugary beverages and ultra-processed foods in an effort to escape the obesity epidemic that has overtaken the United States. In Chile, for instance, foods high in added sugar, saturated fats, calories and added sodium must display black stop signs on the front of their packages. Nothing with black stop signs can be sold or promoted in schools or included in child-targeted television ads.
Groups such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest have long petitioned the FDA to adopt mandatory, standardized and evidence-based front-of-package labeling. Front-of-package nutrition labeling, they say, will reach more consumers than the "Nutrition Facts" on the backs of packages, helping them quickly choose more-beneficial foods and spurring companies to reformulate products in a more healthful direction. According to nutrition experts, Americans generally consume too much sodium, added sugars and saturated fat in their packaged foods, so to be able to quickly identify foods that are high or low in those nutrients would be a significant public health benefit.
The Biden administration has endorsed the FDA's efforts to crack down on sodium intake, strengthening the agency's announcement last year that it would have food companies and restaurants reduce sodium in the foods they make by about 12 percent over the next 21/2 years. In a parallel effort, the administration suggests the FDA reduce Americans' sugar consumption by "including potential voluntary targets" for food manufacturers' sugar content.
New labeling language is sure to be controversial among food manufacturers that have sought to capitalize on Americans' interest in more-healthful food.