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Food & Nutrition
CMS Issues Memo Requesting Hospitals Align Food and Nutrition Services with 2025–2030 DGA
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a memo to hospitals encouraging them to update their food and nutrition services to align with the new 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). The memo reminds hospitals of their statutory obligation to ensure menus meet patient nutritional needs in accordance with recognized dietary practice. It also advises hospitals to review and revise food and nutrition service policies, standard menus, therapeutic diet protocols, and food procurement practices to align with the new Dietary Guidelines. Specifically, hospitals are advised to evaluate several elements in current inpatient menus, including limiting ultra-processed food options for patients, eliminating sugar-sweetened beverages unless clinically appropriate in limited scenarios, prioritizing minimally processed protein sources, including plant-based options, and eliminating processed meats and foods high in added sugars, sodium, and artificial additives, among others. Alongside the announcement, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the launch of Florida’s new Farm-to-Hospital partnership, which will pair in-state farmers and ranchers with healthcare facilities.
American Heart Association Updates Dietary Guidance Recommendations
The American Heart Association (AHA) released its updated dietary guidance recommendations, outlining nine key features of a heart-healthy dietary pattern. These recommendations serve as an updated iteration of the previous 2021 AHA guidance and notably diverge in certain areas from the new 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). Similar to the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines, AHA’s recommendations define a healthy diet as one emphasizing fruits and vegetables, whole grains, minimally processed foods, and minimizing added sugar and sodium intake. However, in contrast to the federal Dietary Guidelines, AHA’s recommendations place a greater emphasis on plant-based protein sources, low-fat and fat-free dairy products, and replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats.
Group Sends Letter to USDA Urging Greater Access to Higher Quality Meat in School Meals
A group of health and agriculture organizations sent a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins urging Food and Nutrition Service leaders to reduce the availability of processed meat products in school meals as part of a broader push to align school nutrition standards with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda. The coalition recommends maintaining the current meat/meat alternate requirement, strengthening overall meal quality by prioritizing fiber-rich foods, prioritizing support for farm to school initiatives, strengthening regional procurement pathways, and requiring renewed investment in school kitchen infrastructure and workforce capacity. The letter comes as USDA is expected to release a proposed rule to align school meal nutrition standards with the updated 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans by mid-spring.
Lawmakers Send Letter Requesting Federal Investment in Food is Medicine Initiatives
Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA), alongside several other lawmakers, sent a letter urging Congressional appropriators to provide essential resources to better integrate 'good nutrition' into the U.S. healthcare system as part of the FY 2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies funding bill. In the letter to Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the coalition emphasized the need to address diet-related disease and rising healthcare costs through “Food is Medicine” initiatives. Specifically, the bipartisan coalition requested targeted investments to expand research on food is medicine at the NIH, additional funding for HHS to bolster ongoing food is medicine work, and expand access to medically tailored meals and produce prescriptions.
PCRM Files Petition Urging USDA Require Cancer Warning Labels on Processed Meat Products
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) filed a petition requesting that USDA require warning labels on processed meat products that have been classified as “carcinogenic to humans” by the World Health Organization (WHO). The petition argues that because certain products, including deli meat, bacon and sausage, have been linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer, USDA should require disclosure of the risk associated with consuming processed meat and poultry products to consumers. The petition urges that USDA amend the current label on processed meat and poultry products to include the phrase, “This product might increase the risk of colorectal cancer.” The filing follows the United States’ withdrawal from the WHO in January 2026.
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