FDA Proposal Would Change Definition of ‘Healthy’

Breakfast may be known as the “most important meal of the day,” but since lots of bacon a donut boxes, is often not necessarily the healthiest. Many brands of cereal they are not better — it’s probably safe to say that no one has dug up the marshmallows of your lucky charms and congratulated each other on a well-balanced meal. But the FDA is currently looking to change its official definition of “healthy,” and if they do, a number of popular cereals are reported to no longer measure up.

Late last month, the FDA announced a proposed change to the qualifications that foods must meet to be labeled “healthy,” a term first defined by the agency in 1994. The FDA explained that the proposed new rules are intended to “better explain how all nutrients in various food groups contribute and can work synergistically to create healthy dietary patterns and improve health” as opposed to the current definition that is based solely on individual nutrients.

“Under the proposed definition,” the FDA wrote, “more foods that are part of a healthy dietary pattern and recommended by the Dietary Guidelines would be eligible to use the claim on their labeling, including nuts and seeds, high-fat fish ( such as salmon), certain oils, and water.

However, as the FDA admits, the changes could also force some foods to drop health claims, and one example the agency has cited several times is breakfast cereal, in large part because of the increased emphasis on proposed definition in added sugars.

“The current definition allows manufacturers to use the ‘healthy’ claim on some foods that, according to the most current nutritional science and federal dietary guidance, contain levels of nutrients that would not help consumers maintain healthy dietary practices (p. (eg, certain ready-to-eat cereals that may be high in added sugars),” the proposed rule states. “Therefore, we believe that the definition of a ‘healthy’ claim needs to be updated to ensure that products bearing the claim are products that can help consumers maintain healthy dietary practices.”

Cereals were also mentioned in the FDA’s announcement of the proposed rule change as an example of a food that would have to “adhere to specific limits for certain nutrients, such as saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars.” The agency continues, “A cereal should contain ¾ ounces of whole grains and contain no more than 1 gram of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium, and 2.5 grams of added sugars.”

What CNBC noted yesterday, many well-known cereals wouldn’t fit that criteria: The network specifically named Raisin Bran (9 g added sugars), Honey Nut Cheerios (12 g added sugars), Corn Flakes (300 mg sodium; 4 g added sugars) , Honey Bunches of Oats (8 g added sugars), Frosted Mini Wheats (12 g added sugars), Life (8 g added sugars), and Special K (270 mg sodium; 4 g added sugars) as cereals that they wouldn’t be able to carry a “healthy” label.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra explained that the goal is to get people to understand that our knowledge of what is “healthy” has changed since 1994. “Too many people may not know what constitutes a healthy meal.” “, he claimed. “The FDA action will help educate more Americans to improve health outcomes, address health disparities and save lives.”

But don’t be surprised if some currently “healthy” food producers decide to object to the proposed rule change. It is currently open for comments until December 28.