WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing the official definition of “healthy,” last updated in the 1990s, at the urging of food companies and lawmakers, reported The Wall Street Journal.
The decision to redefine the term marks a major step in the FDA’s effort to catch up to changing ideas about health and eating habits, the report said.
In March 2015, the FDA issued a warning letter requesting removal of the word “healthy” from the back panel of four Kind snack-bar wrappers and its website. This week, the FDA notified Kind Healthy Snacks that the company can use the term “healthy” on its packaging as it had before—a reversal of the position the agency took more than a year ago.
In a statement concerning that decision, the FDA said, “Consumers want to make informed food choices, and it is the FDA’s responsibility to help them by ensuring labels provide accurate and reliable nutrition information. In light of evolving nutrition research, forthcoming Nutrition Facts Labeling final rules and a citizen petition, we believe now is an opportune time to re-evaluate regulations concerning nutrient content claims, generally, including the term ‘healthy.’ We plan to solicit public comment on these issues in the near future.”
Food can be marketed as “healthy” only if it meets criteria in five areas: fat, saturated fat, sodium, cholesterol and beneficial nutrients, such as vitamin C or calcium. The levels differ by food category, but snacks generally can’t have more than 3 grams of fat.
When the term "healthy" was first officially defined in 1994, low fat content was the main focus of health professionals. Sugar wasn’t on the FDA’s, or most nutritionists,’ radar, said the report.
But ideas about health, in particular “healthy fat,” have changed. Sales of low-fat foods have fallen, with consumers shopping for gluten-free or all-natural items instead. Even regulators have said in new dietary guidelines issued this year that consumers should eat more salmon and nuts as sources of protein for a healthy diet, yet neither food meets the FDA’s criteria for “healthy.”
That is, “in a word, nuts!” said David Katz, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, to the newspaper. “The problem, of course, is that the foodscape can change quickly, but FDA regulations change very slowly.”
The FDA has grappled with a number of label questions in recent years. Regulators are set to announce soon their first definition of the term “natural” after several food brands were sued by consumers for claiming their foods were natural.
The FDA last year issued a ban on partially hydrogenated oils, or trans fats, after years of advocacy groups lobbying for their removal.
Congress is also pushing the FDA to make this issue a priority. In the House of Representatives’ report explaining its agriculture appropriations bill, the committee urges the FDA to update the regulations around food makers using the term “healthy... to be based upon significant scientific agreement.” The bill passed the committee last month and awaits a vote on the House floor.
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