Federal Agencies Ask Help in Defining Ultraprocessed Foods

The three federal agencies that regulate foods have announced a joint Request for Information (RFI) to gather information and data to help establish a federally recognized uniform definition for ultraprocessed foods.

The request comes from Dept. of Health & Human Services and its subsidiary FDA along with USDA. Comments are being taken till Sept. 23.

“Currently, there is no single authoritative definition for ultraprocessed foods for the U.S. food supply,” the announcement said. “Creating a uniform federal definition will serve as a key deliverable on the heels of the recently published Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment, which recognizes that the overconsumption of ultraprocessed foods is one of the driving factors of the childhood chronic disease crisis.”

"Ultra-processed foods are driving our chronic disease epidemic," said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "We must act boldly to eliminate the root causes of chronic illness and improve the health of our food supply. Defining ultraprocessed foods with a clear, uniform standard will empower us even more to Make America Healthy Again."

“A unified, widely understood definition for ultraprocessed foods is long overdue,” added Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

Although there is no definition yet, “It is estimated that approximately 70% of packaged products in the U.S. food supply are foods often considered ultraprocessed, and that children get over 60% of their calories from such foods,” the announcement said. “Dozens of scientific studies have found links between the consumption of foods often considered ultraprocessed with numerous adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, cancer, obesity and neurological disorders.”

The RFI’s specifics were in the July 25 Federal Register. Electronic comments can be submitted on the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. There's a Sept. 23 deadline.