FDA delays crackdown on which foods can be labeled ‘healthy’

Dive Brief:

• The FDA said it would delay implementation of a rule making it harder for many food companies to label their products as “healthy.”
• The effective date, previously Feb. 25, has been pushed to April 28 as part of a presidential memorandum freezing all Biden administration regulations that have yet to be implemented.
• The rule prevents foods high in saturated fat, sodium and added sugars from being called “healthy.” Many cereal and yogurt products would be unable to use the label under the regulation.

Dive Insight:

The FDA last updated its definition of “healthy” in 1994 when fat content and cholesterol were the top dietary concerns. That definition, however, prevented foods including nuts, salmon and olive oil from being called “healthy” even as nutrition science has evolved to show that they can be foundational to proper diets.

The rule would allow those foods to be called “healthy” for the first time, while restricting the label's use in products such as certain breads, cereals and yogurts. Currently, the FDA estimates 5% of all packaged foods are labeled as “healthy.”

To use the label, many food companies would need to reformulate their products. The FDA estimated it would cost $403 million, or $27 million a year, over the next two decades for food companies to reformulate.

The delay in the implementation date does not change the fact that companies must comply by Feb. 25, 2028. However, the move could signal the Trump administration may have an “interest in re-opening the regulation to change the definition,” according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The notice announcing the implementation date delay was signed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, rather than an FDA official, which is more customary. One aspect Kennedy could target under the rule is language allowing vegetable and seed oils to be labeled “healthy” if they meet certain requirements.

Kennedy has rallied against seed oils, claiming they drive obesity and have “unknowingly poisoned” Americans. Nutrition scientists have disputed the claim, with the FDA noting in its original rule that oils and oil-based dressings are better alternatives to butter and lard when cooking.