Food & Nutrition

House Appropriations Committee Hosts Hearing on SNAP Restrictions 

The House Appropriations Committee held the hearing, Nutritious Foods in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), to discuss Representative Andy Harris’ (R-MD) proposal to establish a pilot program that would test restrictions limiting what foods can or cannot be purchased with SNAP benefits. The Committee and hearing witnesses emphasized the growing rate of diet-related diseases in the U.S. and provided supporting arguments that outlined how pilot-testing and nutrition-based SNAP restrictions could help SNAP participants consume and purchase more nutrient-dense foods. Several witnesses presented in favor of SNAP restrictions in support of a pilot program to study restrictions on items such as sugar-sweetened beverages, while some Committee members shared that such restriction pilots would not effectively address the underlying challenges of food insecurity and rather cause implementation and logistical difficulties for the industry.

Senate HELP Committee Hosts Hearing on Food is Medicine

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held the hearing, Feeding a Healthier America: Current Efforts and Potential Opportunities for Food is Medicine, to explore ways in which the federal government and stakeholders can leverage the food is medicine (FIM) field to improve overall consumer health and reduce healthcare costs in the U.S. The hearing featured witness testimonies and remarks from Committee members who emphasized the importance of accelerated action to integrate FIM into the healthcare sector and the need for increased government funding, policy solutions, and research toward FIM initiatives such as medically tailored meals and produce prescription programs. Witness Dariush Mozaffarian, former Dean at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, called for Congressional action to integrate FIM into the healthcare system and highlighted the potential of FIM programs to reduce rates of diet-related diseases, alleviate food insecurity, and improve health outcomes by promoting the intake of nutritious foods.

Study Examines UPF Consumption and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Children

A study published in JAMA Network Open examined the association between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and cardiometabolic risk factors in young children. The study found that UPF consumption, according to the NOVA classification system, was positively associated with fasting plasma glucose levels, BMI, waist circumference, and fat mass index and inversely associated with HDL cholesterol concentration. Researchers' findings suggest that high UPF consumption in young children was associated with adiposity and other cardiometabolic risk factors. The study highlights the need for increased public health initiatives to promote the replacement of UPFs with unprocessed or minimally processed foods, recognizing that early dietary habits in childhood may have future implications on cardiometabolic health.

On a related note, a study published in Neurology examined the association between UPF and incident cognitive impairment and stroke, suggesting that a diet high in UPFs increases the risk of cognitive impairment and stroke. Researchers also found that a diet high in unprocessed or minimally processed foods decreased the risk of cognitive impairment and stroke.

Food Safety

California Bill to Prohibit Several Food Dyes in School Meals Passes Assembly

The California State Legislature passed a bill in the Assembly that would prohibit schools from offering, selling, and providing any food containing certain food dyes, including blue 1, blue 2, green 3, red 40, yellow 5, yellow 6, and food additive titanium dioxide in the state. The legislation’s sponsor, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, also introduced the state’s enacted California Food Safety Act, which prohibits the use of brominated vegetable oil (BVO), potassium bromate, propylparaben, and red dye 3 in the state beginning January 1, 2027. The bill heads to the Senate for consideration. If enacted, the legislation would take effect July 1, 2025.

On a related note, the New York State legislature introduced a bill that would require warning labels on foods and beverages containing BVO, potassium bromate, propylparaben, red dye 3, and titanium dioxide in the state. The legislation’s companion bill in the Assembly, introduced in February 2024, has yet to pass either chamber.

Agriculture

USDA Launches Summer Nutrition Programs to Improve Child Nutrition Security

USDA announced the launch of the agency’s Summer Nutrition Programs (SUN Programs) to provide more meal options for school-aged children and improve nutrition security during the summer months. The SUN Program features SUN Bucks, a new evidence-based Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program that will provide a grocery benefit of $120 per eligible school-aged child that can be used at grocery stores and food retailers in addition to other food assistance programs such as SNAP and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Additional programs under the SUN Program, such as SUN Meals and SUN Meals To-Go, will provide meal and snack services for children and among populations with high poverty rates throughout the U.S. The SUN Program serves to advance the goals of the Biden Administration’s 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.

Global

Health Canada Proposes to Remove BVO from List of Permitted Food Additives

Health Canada released a proposal requesting to remove brominated vegetable oil (BVO) from the country's List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Accepted Uses (List). Health Canada announced that the country completed an updated safety assessment of BVO based on new and previously reviewed information. The agency did not identify an immediate health concern with the current permitted use of BVO as a food additive, however, the assessment did not support BVO continuing to be permitted for use as a food additive. Implementation for this proposal will come into effect once formally published in the List. Health Canada stated that the country would provide a one-year transition period to allow impacted beverages to be reformulated and relabeled since the updated safety assessment did not find an immediate health concern with the current permitted use of BVO as a food additive. Health Canada is accepting public comment on the proposal until July 30, 2024.

Fun Fact: Romaine lettuce is named after the city of Rome as it is believed to have originally been discovered by the Romans on the Aegean Island of Cos.