While the proposed rule will pave the way for many more foods to use the “health” claim on their labels, manufacturers know all too well from the barrage of class action lawsuits that FDA compliance does not protect a company from complaints that its advertising or labeling is false or misleading. Companies should therefore continue to ensure that health claims are adequately substantiated and do not exaggerate the benefits of the product. * A food group equivalent is the amount of a food group needed There are some exceptions, including foods such as eggs and some shellfish, which contain ≤5% DV of saturated fat per RACC and are not low in dietary cholesterol (ref. 20). However, eggs and seafood (including fish and shellfish) are explicitly highlighted in the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines as nutrient-dense foods that provide nutrients such as choline, vitamin D and essential fatty acids (Ref. 1 and 17). The 2020-2025 dietary guidelines also found that nearly 90 percent of Americans do not meet seafood consumption recommendations and specifically recommend changes within the protein food group to increase seafood intake. When the term “healthy” or a similar term such as “healthy”, “healthier” or “healthiest” is used on food labels, the food must contain fewer amounts of certain nutrients, including total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, and contain at least 10% of certain nutrients to be promoted in a serving of stated size or ACEL (see table on page 38). “Many people assume that portion size is a recommendation. They are, in fact, a benchmark based on what people typically consume, not what should be consumed,” says Kris Sollid, RD, director of nutritional communications at the International Food Information Council (IFIC) in Washington, DC, a nonprofit whose members include food industry companies. This is an important reminder for dietitians when advising clients on how to use portion size information on food labels.

Restrictions on saturated fat would vary depending on the recommended daily limit or daily value for different types of foods, depending on the FDA`s proposal. For example, the limit would be 5% of the Daily Value for fruits, vegetables and grain products, 10% for dairy products, game meat, seafood and eggs, and 20% for total fat for oils, and oil-based spreads and dressings. As part of these regulations, we are proposing to update the definition of “healthy” when used as an implicit nutrient content claim to reflect developments in current nutritional science and federal nutrition guidelines, as we have done with the development of rules on updating the nutrition label. The criteria we propose and update for “health” include both food group requirements and nutrient limits. These changes are intended to ensure that foods with implicit nutrient content are “healthy” foods that can help consumers maintain healthy eating habits, based on current nutritional science and federal dietary guidelines. The fundamental purpose of these regulations furthers the congressional objectives underlying the NLEA, which is to provide consumers with nutritional information to help them choose foods that can lead to healthier eating and to reduce consumer confusion that can be caused by the use of inconsistent definitions for nutrient content claims. According to Stephanie Perruzza, MS, RD, CDN, Health and Wellness Specialist at KIND Healthy Snacks in New York City, “In addition to pricing real food and healthy ingredients, we believe the definition of `healthy` should align with modern nutrition science. We plan to reiterate this position when we submit our public comments during the FDA`s open comment period.

As for when dietitians can see the new definition of “healthy,” don`t expect it anytime soon. According to the FDA, the information submitted in response to the Federal Register notice will be used to develop a proposed rule that will also be released for public comment. After that, the FDA will review the submitted comments to inform and develop a final rule. The whole process could take years. “The time it takes to set rules depends on many factors, so it`s too early in the process to determine when a final new definition of `healthy` will come into effect,” says Balentine. Under a proposed rule announced Wednesday, a food labeled as “healthy” would have to contain a minimum amount of foods from at least one of the groups or subgroups, including fruits, vegetables, nuts and lean meats, recommended for Americans under the 2020-2025 dietary guidelines. On September 28, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a proposal to update the labelling criteria for foods with “healthy” nutritional content on their packaging.

The proposed amendment seeks to modernize the definition and adapt it to current nutritional science; dietary guidelines, 2020-2025; and updating the nutrition label. The FDA first established a definition of “healthy” in 1994, and at the time, nutritional science and federal nutrition boards focused more on the individual nutrients found in foods. In 1994, the Agency amended paragraph 101.65(d) to define “healthy” as the implied nutrient content under paragraph 403(r) of the federal Food, Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The definition in paragraph 101.65(d) specifies the parameters for the use of the implied nutrient content claim “health” or related terms (such as “health”, “health”, “health”, “health”, “health”, “health”, “health”, “under the existing regulations, these conditions contain specific criteria for nutrients that must be met in the food in order for it to bear such claims. Under the FDA`s proposed rule — which could still change — the agency is now taking a more holistic approach to food evaluation, saying foods could be labeled as healthy if: High-fat oils labeled as “healthy”: Lawsuit against Barlean`s Organic Oils claimed the company engaged in deceptive marketing by calling its coconut oil “healthy.” if it contained a high proportion of saturated fat. Healthy, natural, organic, low in fat. These terms appear everywhere on food labels, but only some of them have strict definitions and regulations. The FDA and USDA define and regulate hundreds of terms that appear on food packaging. But some words that appear on labels are not regulated and are more prone to marketing than reliable information about a food`s composition.