Food & Nutrition

FDA Human Foods Program Publishes FY 2025 Priority Deliverables

FDA released its Human Foods Program (HFP) 2025 Priority Deliverables, which outlines activities the HFP plans to prioritize during its first year following the program’s reorganization, which went into effect on October 1, 2024. The 2025 Priority Deliverables are organized across FDA's three risk management areas, including Microbiological Safety, Food Chemical Safety, and Nutrition. Some key priorities included the release of the agency’s final rule to update the nutrient content claim “healthy" and the proposed rule to establish a mandatory front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labeling scheme. Additional FY 2025 priorities included efforts to support sodium reductions in the food supply, update the agency’s systematic process for its post-market assessment of chemicals in food, and collaboration on a nutrition research agenda to better understand the mechanisms between ultra-processed foods and poor health outcomes. The HFP intends to develop and release a multi-year strategic plan in FY 2025.

USDA Publishes Final Rule on Access and Parity in Food Distribution Programs

USDA published the final rule, Food Distribution Program: Improving Access and Parity, which will establish access and parity improvements in USDA’s food distribution programs to support access and streamline requirements for program operators. The agency published the proposed rule in August 2023, in which the final rule considered comments submitted in response to the proposed rule on the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and USDA Foods disaster response regulations. The final rule is effective on December 30, 2024. 

Meeting Materials Available for NIH-FDA Nutrition Regulatory Science Workshop

The meeting agenda and meeting speakers are now available for the NIH-FDA Nutrition Regulatory Science Workshop, which will be held December 17-18, 2024. The workshop will highlight how nutrition science can generate evidence and data to inform food-related policy and regulatory decision-making, as well as foster additional research collaboration between NIH and FDA. The event will feature a session on ultra-processed foods, the science and regulatory process to remove partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) from the food supply, methodologies for incorporating nutrition science into risk analysis in food policy, and impact analysis and implementation science related to nutrition regulatory actions, among others.

Food Safety

FDA Publishes Update on Phthalates in Food Packaging

FDA announced that the agency responded to objections to the 2022 final rule that removed the authorized food contact uses of most phthalates due to the industry’s abandonment of their use. The agency evaluated the objections and concluded that the objections did not provide a basis for modifying the final rule. FDA highlighted that for the 28 phthalates that were the subject of the petition, the authorization of 23 of the 28 phthalates were no longer in use and were revoked in the final rule. The agency shared that FDA is working on an updated safety assessment of the remaining authorized uses, with phthalates currently listed among the chemicals being assessed for the safety of their exposure in food contact substances by FDA.

Agriculture

USDA Launches Program to Promote Organic Dairy Products in Schools

USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced the launch of the Organic Dairy Product Promotion (ODPP) program and an investment to expand access to organic dairy products in educational institutions and youth programs. The agency’s key program objectives will include 1) increasing domestic consumption of organic dairy products among children and young adults, 2) diversifying dairy products offered in learning institutions and at other youth and young adult-focused program sites, and 3) building partnerships with, and networks of, businesses involved in organic dairy product production and the distribution of organic dairy products within the lead organization’s region. 

USDA Invests to Expand Processing Capacity in the Meat and Poultry Industry

USDA announced an investment of $20.2 million in awards to 26 projects through the Local Meat Capacity (Local MCap) grant program. The investment aims to expand processing capacity within the meat and poultry industry. The agency’s final set of awards through Local MCap applies to simplified equipment and processing expansion projects in 21 states, which seeks to fund projects to purchase processing equipment and increase processing or rendering capacity through activities such as facility upgrades, equipment purchases, and training.

Global

FAO and WHO Release Joint Statement on Healthy Diets

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) published a joint statement describing the principles of what constitutes healthy diets. The statement outlines that healthy diets meet four core principles, including that healthy diets be: 1) adequate to provide enough essential nutrients to prevent deficiencies and promote health, without excess, 2) balanced in energy intake and energy sources to promote healthy weight, growth and disease prevention, 3) moderate in consumption of foods, nutrients, or other compounds associated with detrimental health effects, and 4) diverse to include a variety of nutritious foods within and across food groups to favor nutrient adequacy and consumption of other health-promoting substances. Notably, the statement also addressed ultra-processed foods (UPFs), citing that the growing body of evidence suggests that UPF consumption is associated with negative health outcomes. 

Fun Fact: The word "tomato" comes from the Aztec word "tomatl," meaning "swelling fruit."