RFK Jr.: Expect Federal Definition for Ultraprocessed Foods by April

In mid-February, Secretary of Health & Human Services (HHS) Robert Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) wouldn’t commit to whether the government would regulate ultraprocessed foods or not on the CBS TV show “60 Minutes”.

“I’m not saying we’re going to regulate ultraprocessed foods,” he said in that interview on Feb. 15, 2026.

Now, it appears, his agency’s tune has changed, and it will regulate ultraprocessed foods. Just two weeks after that “60 Minutes” appearance, this time on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast episode posted earlier this week, Kennedy said he expects a formal, regulatory definition of ultraprocessed foods and that it could come as soon as April 2026.

“By April, we will have a federal definition of ultraprocessed foods for the first time in history,” Kennedy says. About 40 minutes into the interview, Kennedy begins discussing the food pyramid he inherited with Rogan — which Rogan complimented him on flipping over and focusing on “whole food, actual real food” — which eventually leads the talk into ultraprocessed foods.

“[The Food Pyramid] was written by food industry lobbyists in the same impulse who put Froot Loops at the top of the food pyramid — which isn’t even a food,” Kennedy said. “Froot Loops were at the top recommendation of the Food Pyramid.”

He states that people didn’t like the food on the old Food Pyramid, and that drove them to eat ultraprocessed food, “which was OK on the Food Pyramid” at the time. Kennedy talks through how the new Dietary Guidelines will guide several government-funded programs, such as school nutrition, veterans affairs and SNAP to serve a different menu focused much less on processed foods and chemicals.

After talking about cell phones and distractions, Kennedy and Rogan transition that into how mobile technology will help with medical records but also in terms of syncing up with what sounds like a flood of apps that are “coming online now” that will help consumers select foods while grocery shopping that are determined to be healthier options than whatever the shopper scans into the app. Following some talk about this potential and how it’s already changing the way food processors are formulating products, the talk shifts to preservatives and processed foods. Kennedy says the agency isn’t going to take away processed foods entirely, but believes it is going to change the amount of processed foods (either produced or consumed, he doesn’t actually complete that thought).

At this point, Kennedy states that the ultraprocessed foods definition will be done by April, then adds: “And as soon as we do that, we’re going to do front-of-package food labeling, so every food in your grocery store will have a label on it, maybe with a green light, yellow light or red light telling you whether or not it’s going to be good for you.”

He says the new stoplight label will “evaluate all the ingredients, etc.” and that it won’t change overnight but will happen pretty quickly.

“If you want to be healthy, we’re going to give you the information to take control of your own health,” he says. At that point, Rogan branches into how someone like entertainer Jelly Roll losing 300 pounds can really help people struggling to get healthy by losing weight, Kennedy remarks that “he did that without [GLP-1 drugs],” and the duo doesn’t mention ultraprocessed foods again the rest of the two-and-a-half hour episode.