The organization has spent over 5 years attempting to determine what the phrase truly means
What precisely does "healthy" entail when it comes to food? It's a more difficult question than you would assume. The FDA has been attempting to answer it for years, and they have now stated that they have a rough definition.
The origin story is bizarre: the FDA wrote to KIND (the producers of those energy bars that are really just nuts glued together with syrup) years ago, arguing that nuts are too heavy in fat to be deemed "healthy," and so the firm could not use the term. KIND responded that, of course, nuts are healthy, and that the FDA is incorrect. Oh, said the FDA. Perhaps you're correct. We'll think about it.
That was in 2016, and the agency has been thinking about it ever since (with public and corporate input). The original definition of "healthy" required foods to be low in sodium, fat, and cholesterol; however, the Dietary Guidelines (issued by another body, the USDA) have altered since that original definition was formalized. The 2015 guidelines removed cholesterol restrictions, and the 2020 guidelines placed a limit on added sugar. The new rule conforms the definition of "healthy" to the current criteria.
The government defines the new proposed rule on when a corporation can brand its food goods healthy as follows:
According to the proposed definition, in order to be labeled with the "healthy" claim on food packaging, products must:
Contain at least one food group or subgroup (e.g., fruit, vegetable, dairy, etc.) suggested by the Dietary Guidelines.
Limit your intake of certain nutrients, such as saturated fat, sodium, and added sweets. The limit threshold is based on a percentage of the nutrient's Daily Value (DV) and varies depending on the meal and food group. The salt limit per serving is 10% of the DV (230 milligrams per serving).
A cereal, for example, should have 34 ounces of whole grains and no more than 1 gram of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium, and 2.5 grams of added sugars.
So a bottle of yogurt may be "healthy" because it contains dairy, but only if it does not include too much sugar. A trail mix can be considered "healthy" because it contains fruit and nuts, as long as it does not contain excessive sugar, salt, or extra saturated fats. More particular examples can be found on the FDA's website.
The new regulations are intended to shift the emphasis away from celebrating or demonizing certain foods and minerals and toward the idea that eating patterns are what determine whether someone is healthy or sick. The new labels are intended to imply, "You can easily incorporate this into a healthy diet."
Still, I would argue that permitting individual items to be labeled "healthy" undermines the agency's own reasoning. (They are also proposing a symbol to identify healthy meals.) Will the new definition be useful to consumers? That makes me skeptical. But, at the very least, it is evolving.
#healthy #healthylifestyle #healthyfood #healthyliving #healthyeating #healthytips #FDA
SOURCE: lifehacker
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