FDA Sets Stricter Rules for 'Healthy' Food Labels

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has unveiled stricter criteria for food manufacturers to label their products as "healthy," marking the first major update to the definition in 30 years.

The new rule requires products to meet specific thresholds for nutrients while limiting sodium, saturated fat and added sugars. Under the guidelines, foods must contain minimum amounts of nutrient-dense ingredients like fruits, vegetables, or whole grains. Saturated fats cannot exceed 5% of daily recommended value, while sodium is capped at 10%. Manufacturers have until February 2028 to comply with the regulations.

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[Senshi]

That's prolly cuz of small fine prints, too hard to read. FDA should've add new rule making labels easier to read.

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[smoot123]

"Hey Rocky, watch me pull evidence based and broadly applicable product labeling rules out of my hat!"

"Awww FDA, that trick never works."

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[Darinbob]

Musk is also doing stuff Trump doesn't like, and as the big boss man who thinks he has total control over all branches of governments, it's possible he's going to give Musk the shove. It is surprising though that Musk is the exception that proves someone knows less about how government works than Trump.

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[hierofalcon]

It's doomed to fail because the vast majority of people choose taste and texture over healthy until they end up in the ER or doctor's office and they are forced to choose between healthy and dead. And even then, it's a hard choice for some.

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[Darinbob]

Because the manufacturers are even worse! The whole point of hte FDA, the reason it was created, was because dangerous products existed. Snake oil, quack remedies, hair dyes that would literally scar the skin. Left to their own devices, private industry will maim the public if there's a profit to be made.

Today, the "healthy" label gets stuck on obviously unhealthy foods. Fortify sugary breakfast cereal with a squirt of vitamins then start marketing it as healthy.

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[jonwil]

The problem is when regulatory agencies get captured by the entities they are supposed to be regulating.

Missing the mark

[alvinrod]

This seems to be based off the same flawed guidelines and recommendations we've had since Ancel Keys did his seven countries study. No amount of added sugars are healthy and just shows how much of a joke these changes really are.

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[LazarusQLong]

well, let's say that a food labeled as 'healthy' contains 50% of your 'normal daily allowance' of sugar, then the FDA comews along and says it must contain NO MORE than 10% of that product if they want to keep selling it with the healthy label.

Which product is more healthy? the one with 50% of your daily allowance of sugar, or the product that has only 10% of that same daily allowance?

The FDA is trying to help people understand that when something says healthy, today, it really isn't, by making a de

Re:Missing the mark

[LazarusQLong]

Heinz Ketchup. They make a no added sugar version. I use it all the time, it tastes just like the sugar added stuff, almost. Tomatoes have sugar in them\. When I get on my soapbox and tell my family members, who are doctors, nurses, lawyers, and other physicists like me, they refuse to even try it. They believe that I am lying and that it must taste gross.

Re:Missing the mark

[Xaide]

It does taste gross because the no sugar added version simply uses artificial sweeteners.

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[Fly Swatter]

That's why you buy the 'Simply' version which uses cane sugar - sure it's not sugar free but it's about as close to good sugar you will get - all the processed corn sugars are IMHO the bad sugar no one should touch.

If you can no longer touch sugar without death, well that just sucks.

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[fahrbot-bot]

That's why you buy the 'Simply' version which uses cane sugar ...

Yup, it's got about 6 ingredients, all of which I recognize and can pronounce. Similarly, Hershey's has a "Simply 5" syrup. They're both good.

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[skam240]

I go for sugar from sugar cane myself on the rare occasions I consume sweetened foods but you're not really doing that much better for your body one way or the other. Either way you're still spiking your blood sugar levels to unnatural peaks which encourages weight gain and diabetes as well as other health issues as the human body isnt great at dealing with large amounts of sugar stripped of the fiber it's normally bound to in nature. If you really want to make a difference in your health a diet low in any

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[jenningsthecat]

Then again if you're a healthy weight and arent on any meds for blood sugar then you're probably doing fine.

"Healthy weight" is a poor standard. Many people in that weight range still have excess visceral fat, are somewhat insulin resistant, and are starting to develop significant arterial plaques. Unless you've been tested for insulin resistance, inflammatory markers, and arterial plaque, healthy weight could be giving you a false sense of security.

Re: Missing the mark

[YetanotherUID]

Yeah, the differences in negative health effects from cane vs corn sugar are pretty minimal. The real problem is that agricultural subsidies have made HFCS so fucking cheap that it makes no economic sense (from a coroorate perspective) not to add it, even in recipes where sugar wouldn't have been used in the first place. Add to that its inherent addictiveness, and voila, you've got an obesity epidemic.

Re: Missing the mark

[BeepBoopBeep]

Tomatoes donâ(TM)t naturally exist in a really sweet paste form. Itâ(TM)s more savory in nature. The food sciences guys are using other ingredients or chemicals to enhance the flavor playing games with labels. Never doubt a food engineer with a problem to solve.

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[burtosis]

Tomatoes donâ(TM)t naturally exist in a really sweet paste form. Itâ(TM)s more savory in nature. The food sciences guys are using other ingredients or chemicals to enhance the flavor playing games with labels. Never doubt a food engineer with a problem to solve.

Yea, tomatoes naturally exist in a nightshade form with tiny bitter fruit and are toxic plants in nature. Only with human induced cultivation changes have tomatoes expanded their sugar content upon harvest and become palatable. So the savory flavor is highly unnatural, like a poodle of the wild.

Re: Missing the mark

[BeepBoopBeep]

There is no food or animal we eat that isnâ(TM)t human cultivated. Itâ(TM)s just selective breeding. The tomatoes in my garden are savory donâ(TM)t taste like the paste in a bottle.

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[toxonix]

Tomatoes are gross, I concur. Onions are similarly inedible. I see raccoons and opossums and skunks turn up their noses at them.

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[Darinbob]

Onions by themselves are a bit gross. But they're good to add some flavors to other foods. And more than one type of taste depending upon the onion type. Humans love them, they've been in agriculture a long time. Even if you don't like onions, you can still put one on your belt.

Re:Missing the mark

[burtosis]

Heinz Ketchup is one of my favorite food ingredient lists, specifically because it actually uses high fructose corn syrup AND corn syrup. Most manufacturers just ignore one or both of these important sugar groups, it takes true chemistry genius to use them both effectively.

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[lsllll]

Try French's Ketchup. I did and now Heintz tastes like shit.

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[Fly Swatter]

Heinz has been Kraftified. First it was Velveeta which now comes out less than an hour from consuming, then it was their Macaroni and Cheese box (now with Velveeta), and several other products that now just gives me the runs. Turns out it's the processed gums used to replace naturally thick or creamy ingredients - I can't eat Frozen Dairy dessert either, but Ice Cream without gums is fine.

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[skam240]

Are you comparing French's to regular Heinz or the organic Heinz that actually uses entirely good ingredients (tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, salt, and seasonings)? I havent tried French's ketchup specifically but I havent found a better ketchup than the Heinz organic in trying other brands.

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[LazarusQLong]

I was speaking of the Heinz without added sugar, which list exactly and only those ingredients you mentioned. I would eat sugar added anything if I can help it! I gotta keep my sugar levels in check, nobody wants to be diabetic!

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[LazarusQLong]

I meant WOULDN'T eat sugar added anything!

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[lsllll]

I was comparing it to regular Heintz. The ingredients in French's are Tomato Concentrate (Made from Red Ripe Tomatoes), Sugar, Distilled Vinegar, Salt, Onion Powder, Spices and Natural Flavor, which is very similar to Organic Heintz, with the exception of the "organic" part, so I wonder if I'd like Organic Heintz.

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[LazarusQLong]

Hi, Thanks for the suggestion, do they make a no sugar added version with only tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, salt, and seasonings, as the Heinz I mentioned is?

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[Darinbob]

Of course, modern ketchup is nearly indistinguishable from what it likely evolved from. Earlier recipes would have oysters (ugh, ptui), mussels, walnuts, or whatever. Tomato ketchup was later, but even then the early tomato ketchup recipes had anchovies (mmm, good).

Theories are that the word came from one of several southeast Asian dishes which used fermented fish or soy.

The Heinz variety got popular because he figured out a way to make it last longer without artificial preservatives (sodium benzoate).

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[dargaud]

I made homemade ketchup following a recipe without sugar. It tasted the same to me. Nobody else tried it, they all refused, even after it was on their plates. WTF ?!?

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[LazarusQLong]

yep. I found it to taste just about 100% the same and it helps keep my blood sugar low by using it, and other no added sugar foods. I reported this to my family (two brothers, my mom, one brother's wife and two kids) and universally they refused to even try it. Of course my mom is 89, so she must be doing something right!

Re: Missing the mark

[drinkypoo]

Reasonably, the sugar allowed in food labeled as healthy should be limited to a proportion based on what percentage of your daily recommended calorie intake the food item is. So if sugar is allowed to be x percent of the intake, the food can't be over x percent sugar.

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[toxonix]

Eat your "Fiber One" bar! It has chicory fiber, 9 grams of it. It also has an equal weight in sugar, but prebiotic fiber balances that out somehow!! Stay "on track" - know what I mean? Weight-wise. By eating desserts and snacks:
https://www.fiberone.com/ [fiberone.com]

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[eepok]

No amount of added sugars are healthy and just shows how much of a joke these changes really are.

That's an oversimplification. The human body needs sugars. Diets that cut out too much carbohydrates and sugars can result in hypoglycemic crash. Some added sugars are necessary depending on overall diet and activity. The amount of TOTAL sugars are the bigger concern and that's discussed in the actual literature (https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2024-29957.pdf).

Example: Cranberries have little natural sugar (4.7g of sugar per 110g fruit) and more nutrients as compared to a Fuji apple (12.7g per

healthy foods

[gary s]

SO this is just a labeling thing. You can still produce the stuff just dont try to sell it as healthy.. Yea, that work so well with the no-fat labeling.

enforcing corrupt nutritional guidelines

[zephvark]

Many of the Government nutritional guidelines were created by a wildly corrupt committee in the 1970s. They told you that fats would kill you, salt is evil, cholesterol is a murder weapon, and you'd better eat three large servings of beans every day to get your fiber. Milk was highly promoted, but of course it had to be skim milk, because fats would kill you. You needed lots and lots of grains, which you could satisfy by eating Twinkies or Wonder Bread. They didn't say "whole grains", they said "some sort o

What if 'healthy' is in the name, not in the desc.

[usedtobestine]

Will they be exempted if its named 'healthy choice' and not described as 'a healthy choice'?

What's wrong with saturated fat?

[LeadGeek]

Saturated fat is much less likely to be damaged by heat. It's quite stable. Seed oils are only pushed because they're dirt cheap, mostly the result of heavy subsidies. (earlier, Crisco and margarine were pushed as safer replacements for lard and butter...it's now common knowledge they aren't.) Humans just haven't eaten seed oils very long, but we have eaten animals, and likely some plants, for millennia. Plants have evolved chemical defenses to prevent the digestion of seeds, so they stay viable through dig

The "health czars" always look near death...

[Murdoch5]

Why do we listen to people who look like they could die of a grease fuelled heart attack, or, starvation, at any moment? Think of all the “top” health experts, and how many can you picture who look healthy? If we subtract all the multi-chins, and all the skeletons, who are we left with?

Why do the “ideal” diets always disagree with diets encouraged by body builders, strongmen, strength athletes, or even track and field all stars? Eating “properly” is not hard, and tr

Alternative diets

[Random361]

Personally, I think I have a very healthy diet. It's really all natural. My grain intake comes from rye whisky and beer, which of course is made with whole grain! My vegetable intake is primarily potato vodka. I eat a lot of beans in the form of coffee, with some cream in it so I can get my dairy. My protein intake comes from mostly sardines, so I double dip and meet my fish requirement there too. I confess that sometimes I consume about a half pound of lard to get some of my necessary fat intake. I just ca