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Weekly Newsletter | December 15, 2023

Food & Nutrition


Registration Opens for Fourth 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Meeting

Registration is open to attend the fourth public meeting of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) on January 19, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST. During the meeting, the Committee will provide subcommittee updates, including presentations by each subcommittee, and deliberation by the full Committee regarding progress made since the third public meeting, including protocol development, evidence review and synthesis, draft conclusion statements, and plans for future Committee work. The final two Committee public meetings will be held on May 30 and September 26, 2024. 


FDA Finalizes Reorganization Proposal for Unified Human Foods Program

FDA announced the agency has completed its proposed reorganization package in its efforts to create a unified Human Foods Program (HFP) and new Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) model. The announcement includes new details about the proposed structure, an update on the status of activities, and a timeline for next steps. Building on previous agency announcements about the reorganization, new structural changes were also incorporated into the proposal and is now under review at HHS. In addition to HHS’ review, there are several steps remaining before the agency can implement the proposed reorganization. These steps include review by the Office of Management and Budget, providing Congress with a 30-day notification period, issuing a Federal Register notice, and engaging in all necessary negotiations with Unions representing impacted staff. The agency expects to finalize the proposal in the 2024 calendar year and will continue to engage with stakeholders throughout the process to finalize the proposal. 


FDA Publishes Revision to Menu Labeling Supplemental Draft Guidance

FDA published a draft second revision proposing updates to the agency’s existing menu labeling guidance, Menu Labeling: Supplemental Guidance for Industry, published in May 2018. The draft guidance updates the guidance to include two new questions and answers regarding voluntarily declaring added sugars as part of the additional written nutrition information for standard menu items provided to a customer upon request and voluntarily providing nutrition information consistent with the menu labeling requirements through third-party platforms. FDA encourages covered establishments to voluntarily disclose the gram amount of added sugars for standard menu items as part of their written nutrition information to align the draft guidance with the requirement that added sugars be declared on the Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods. Comments on this draft guidance are due February 12, 2024. 


Congress Introduces Bill to Require Mandatory FOP Nutrition Labeling 

Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Transparency, Readability, Understandability, Truth, and Helpfulness (TRUTH) in Labeling Act. The bill, introduced in both the House and Senate, would direct FDA to develop mandatory front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labels, consistent with the Nutrition Facts label and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The legislation would require a standardized FOP nutrition labeling system that displays calorie and interpretive nutrition information, distinguishing products that contain nutrients of concern, including added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat. According to the recently published Fall 2023 Unified Agenda, FDA intends to publish a proposed rule that would require FOP nutrition labeling as early as June 2024. 


World Economic Forum Publishes Food System Transformation Report

The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Accenture, published the report, Transforming the Global Food System for Human Health and Resilience. The report, integrating public, private and community sectors, addresses increasing the availability, access, and adoption of ‘nutritious’ food choices that are in alignment with global sustainability objectives. The initiative proposes strategies for healthier diets, emphasizing nutrient-rich, minimally processed, predominantly plant-based foods for widespread adoption by 2035. Additionally, the report highlights the recent evidence and negative impact of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) on health, emphasizing that UPFs represent over 50% of calories consumed in developed countries and constitute approximately 40% of calories consumed globally. The report calls for collaborative, cross-sector efforts to transform food systems and policies for a more sustainable food landscape with improved global health outcomes.

Food Safety


FDA Completes Final Administrative Actions on PHOs in Foods

FDA announced that the effective date for the direct final rule, Revocation of Uses of Partially Hydrogenated Oils in Food, is December 22, 2023, completing the agency’s final administrative actions on this ruling. FDA previously stated that this would be the final effective date unless any significant comments were submitted to the agency. The final rule amends the agency’s regulations that provide for the use of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) in food to remove all mention of PHOs from FDA’s generally recognized as safe (GRAS) regulations, reflecting FDA’s final determination that PHOs are not GRAS in 2015. 


Congress Introduces Farewell to Foam Act

Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TC) introduced the Farewell to Foam Act, which would prohibit the sale and distribution of single-use plastic foam food service products, known as expanded polystyrene (EPS). The bill, introduced in both the House and the Senate, aims to reduce plastic foam pollution by requiring food service providers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to transition their stock of EPS products such as food ware, coolers, and loose packing fill to alternative materials by January 1, 2026.


Washington State Legislature Introduces Bill to Ban Four Food Additives

The Washington State legislature introduced a bill that would prohibit the manufacture, sale, and distribution of food products that contain brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and red dye 3 in the state, effective January 1, 2027. Similar bills introduced in Illinois, New Jersey, and New York's Assembly and Senate proposing to ban food products that contain one or more of the following food additives such as brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, red dye 3, and titanium dioxide have yet to pass either chamber. These bills follow the enactment of California bill AB 418 that bans the use of four food additives in the state. 

Agriculture


House Passes Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2023 

The House of Representatives passed a bill, known as the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2023, that would expand options allowed to be served at schools to include whole milk and 2% milk alongside reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free milk as part of the USDA National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. The bill, which passed on a bipartisan 330-99 vote in the House, now heads to the Senate. The companion bill in the Senate, introduced by Senator Roger Marshall (R-KA), has yet to advance.

Global


FAO Releases Global Roadmap to Achieve Agrifood Systems Transformation

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released its Global Roadmap for Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) without Breaching the 1.5°C Threshold. The roadmap identifies 120 actions and key milestones within ten domains, including clean energy, crops, fisheries and aquaculture, food loss and waste, forests and wetlands, healthy diets, livestock, soil and water, and data and inclusive policies, with the goal to eliminate chronic undernourishment by 2030 and ensure access to healthy diets for all by 2050. In the report, FAO discourages the use of marketing campaigns that promote ‘unhealthy’ and ultra-processed foods and beverages and encourages the use of food and beverages taxes and subsidies, such as sugar-sweetened beverage taxes to reduce their consumption. FAO intends to release a second volume of the roadmap in 2024, followed by the third and final volume in 2025. 


UK Opens Public Consultation to Restrict Advertisement of HFSS Foods

UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) opened a public consultation on the implementation of new regulations to further limit high fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) food and drink advertising to children on TV and in on-demand programme services and paid online ad media. The UK introduced legislation mandating restrictions on ads for HFSS food and drink products in 2022 with plans for the restrictions to go into effect in October 2025. The government is asking for comments on: 1) guidance to accompany the new rules to enable advertisers, media owners and practitioners to apply them, 2) transposition of the legislation into new UK Advertising Code rules for each of the restrictions, and 3) technical updates to the existing rules to ensure the interconnection of the less healthy product rules with the existing rules on HFSS advertising. The public consultation closes February 7, 2024. 


Australia Announces Public Consultation of First Cell-Cultured Food Assessment

The Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) announced a public consultation for an application to amend the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code to permit the use of cultured quail cells as a novel food and an ingredient in food products. This is the first cell-based food application to be considered in Australia and New Zealand. The publication consultation closes February 5, 2024.


Fun Fact: The first recorded use of the word "cupcake" was in 1828.

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