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Food & Nutrition
Senate Confirms Dr. Erica Schwartz to Serve as CDC Director
The Senate confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz to serve as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by a vote of 51-44. Prior to her confirmation, Dr. Schwartz served as Chief Medical Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard and as Deputy Surgeon General during the first Trump Administration. As CDC Director, Dr. Schwartz will oversee the nation's public health response, including reviewing vaccine recommendations and leading the agency's efforts to respond to infectious disease outbreaks and other public health threats.
HHS to Host Food Policy Celebration Press Event
HHS is scheduled to host a food policy celebration event recognizing a series of actions to advance the Trump Administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda on August 10, 2026. According to the Department, the event will “highlight the Trump Administration's accomplishments over the past 18 months to address the chronic disease epidemic and announce two major new food policy actions.” The event will feature HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., FDA Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas, Calley Means, Senior Advisor to the Secretary, and Chris Klomp, Chief Counselor to the Secretary.
HHS ACF Publishes NPRM to Revise Head Start Program Performance Standards
HHS’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), “Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs,” which proposed to rescind and replace the Head Start Program Performance Standards, last revised in 2024. According to ACF, the NPRM seeks to reduce regulatory burden and refocus federal oversight on core statutory priorities, particularly school readiness and child outcomes, child development and health, and parental engagement. The proposed framework would also encourage Head Start programs to provide nutrient-dense, whole foods that support healthy dietary practices while remaining consistent with the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) meal standards. Public comments on the NPRM are due October 6, 2026.
HHS Announces Funding Opportunity for Healthy Cooking in Communities Initiative
HHS' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) announced a new funding opportunity, Healthy Cooking in Communities, to support a nationwide cooking and nutrition education initiative. Through a coordinated network of regional and local implementation partners, the initiative will deliver recurring community cooking demonstrations and hands-on nutrition education designed to help individuals and families develop practical skills for selecting and preparing meals aligned with the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Aligned with the Administration's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative, the program aims to promote practical cooking skills, nutrition literacy, preparation of meals using “minimally processed,” nutrient-dense foods, and healthy dietary patterns that support chronic disease prevention. Through the cooperative agreement, OASH's Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) anticipates awarding three cooperative agreements. The application closes on August 17, 2026.
HHS Announces States Achieve Full Participation in Nutrition Education Initiative
HHS announced that Kentucky has become the latest state to achieve full participation in the Department’s Nutrition Education Initiative. With new commitments from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, the University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Eastern Kentucky University’s proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine, every medical school has joined the initiative. Beginning this fall, each school will provide at least 40 hours of nutrition education, or a 40-hour competency equivalent, integrated throughout all four years of medical school. Secretary Kennedy announced the commitments during a roundtable discussion with leaders at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. With Kentucky’s commitments, 76 medical schools across 36 states have joined the Nutrition Education initiative.
OMB Completes Review of GRAS Proposed Rule
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) completed its review of the FDA proposed rule, "Substances Generally Recognized as Safe." According to the Unified Agenda, the agency is amending its regulations to require the submission of a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) notice for the use of a human or animal food substance that is purported to be GRAS under section 201(s) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The rule would also clarify that FDA maintains and updates a public-facing GRAS notice inventory for all substances that are the subject of mandatory GRAS notice and clarify the process under which FDA would determine that the use of a substance is not GRAS. Since the proposed rule has undergone OMB review, the rule could be released by FDA to the public at any time in the coming days.
FDA White Paper on Ultra-Processed Food Definition at OMB for Review
The FDA document, "White Paper: Proposed Definition of Ultra-Processed Food," has been sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. While no public details regarding the contents of the white paper are currently available, OMB has classified the document as "not economically significant." This comes as HHS and FDA have spent the past several months signaling that developing a federal definition of ultra-processed food (UPF) is a priority under the Administration's broader food policy agenda. OMB reviews typically take between 60-90 days, but can take longer or shorter depending on other priorities.
Senate Introduces Food Labeling Modernization Act of 2026
Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Food Labeling Modernization Act of 2026, which would direct HHS to establish a single, standard front-of-package nutrition labeling system for all food products required to bear nutrition labeling. The legislation would also require the agency to define terms such as “natural”, require formatting requirements for ingredient statements and the principal display panel, amend standards of identity regulations to provide for the use of salt substitutes, and establish food allergen labeling requirements, among several other provisions. In contrast to its companion bill in the House, the legislation would direct HHS to define terms such as "non-UPF," "non-ultraprocessed," "not UPF," and "not ultraprocessed."
House Introduces FASTER Act of 2026
Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) introduced the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research (FASTER) Act of 2026, which would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to include barley, rye, and oats as major food allergens. The bill would amend the Act by replacing “wheat” in the definition of a major food allergen with “gluten-containing grain,” defined to include wheat, barley, rye, oats, and crossbred hybrids such as triticale. The legislation would also direct HHS to report to Congress on celiac disease surveillance, diagnostics, prevention, risk reduction, and the development of new treatments.
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