FDA revoking ‘Standards of Identity’ for more than 50 foods

The FDA is revoking or proposing to revoke 52 food standards saying they are obsolete.

Martin Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration announced that advances in food science and consumer protections have made the standards unnecessary. 

The FDA began establishing Standards of Identity (SOI) in 1939 and has since put into place more than 250 of the consumer protections. 

Products including milk, milk chocolate, various breads, peanut butter and ketchup have an SOI. The standards often describe in detail what a food must contain and what is optional and sometimes describe the amount or proportion of ingredients or components. Many SOIs also prescribe a method of production or formulation. 

The goal of the plan to revoke SOIs is to permit the food industry flexibility of the covered foods, according to the announcement from the FDA.

For example, some products have been represented as jams containing fruit, but the products contained little fruit — the SOI for fruit preserves and jams requires that products represented as jam contain a minimum amount of fruit. With the revocation of this SOI, the fruit requirement would no longer apply.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the changes would benefit consumers.

“I’m eliminating outdated food regulations that no longer serve the interests of American families,” Kennedy said in the release.

According to the FDA’s statement, SOIs were developed to help protect consumers and promote honesty and fair dealing. 

“SOIs were established to ensure that the characteristics, ingredients and production processes of specific foods are consistent with what consumers expect,” said the FDA announcement.

The actions proposed by the FDA include publication of the following:

• A direct final rule revoking standards for 11 types of canned fruits and vegetables that are no longer sold in U.S. grocery stores, including seven standards for fruits artificially sweetened with saccharin or sodium saccharin. The agency is issuing a companion proposed rule in the same issue of the Federal Register in case the direct final rule is withdrawn because significant adverse comments are received, and the agency needs to move forward with a proposed rule to put these changes in place.
• A proposed rule that would revoke standards for 18 types of dairy products – including certain milk and cream products, cheeses and related cheese products and frozen desserts.
• A proposed rule that would revoke standards for 23 types of food products –including bakery products, macaroni and noodle products, canned fruit juices, fish and shellfish, and food dressings and flavorings.

Standards of Identity for specific food products can be found in 21 C.F.R. Chapter 1, Subchapter B, Parts 131-169. Within each standard listed below, there may be standards for multiple products.

• Milk and Cream 
• Cheeses and Related Cheese Products
• Frozen Desserts
• Bakery Products
• Cereal Flours and Related Products
• Macaroni and Noodle Products
• Canned Fruits
• Canned Fruit Juices
• Fruit Butters, Jellies, Preserves, and Related Products
• Fruit Pies
• Canned Vegetables
• Vegetable Juices
• Frozen Vegetables
• Eggs and Egg Products
• Fish and Shellfish
• Cacao Products
• Tree Nuts and Peanut Products
• Beverages
• Margarine
• Sweeteners and Table Sirups
• Food Dressings and Flavorings

A partial list of additional Standards of Identity slated to be revoked can be found here.

(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here)