FDA Proposes New Requirements for Use of 'Healthy' Claim on Food Labeling
FDA is proposing new requirements for when the term “healthy” can be used as a claim on food labeling. The proposed rule, published in the Sept. 29 Federal Register, would modify current general criteria for using the term “healthy” by moving to a food-specific approach, and would set new recordkeeping requirements where compliance can’t be verified with information on the product label, FDA said.
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“The proposed framework for the updated definition of ‘healthy’ uses a food group-based approach in addition to nutrients to limit (based on the understanding that each food group contributes an array of important nutrients to the diet),” FDA said in the proposed rule. It would “emphasize healthy dietary patterns by requiring that food products contain a certain amount of food from at least one of the food groups or subgroups recommended by” the agency’s dietary guidelines, the agency said. The proposal “would also require a food product to be limited in certain nutrients, including saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars,” it said.
For example, to include a “healthy” claim on the package, a cereal would need to contain a certain amount of whole grains and follow limits for saturated fat, sodium and added sugars, FDA said in a Sept. 28 constituent update.
Under the current framework, which the proposal would replace, specific criteria for individual nutrients must be met for foods to bear the “healthy” claim, including limits on fats, cholesterol and sodium, and minimum amounts of nutrients. The current framework allows use of the “healthy” claim on foods that contain nutrients that don’t help consumers maintain healthy practices, and doesn't allow the claim on foods that are key elements of a healthy diet, FDA said in the proposed rule. For example, nuts and seeds, higher fat fish, such as salmon, certain oils, and water can’t currently be labeled as “healthy,” FDA said in the constituent update.
FDA also is separately researching “a symbol that manufacturers could use on the front of the pack to show that their product meets the definition of the ‘healthy’ claim,” the agency said. “Having a standardized graphic to show that a food qualifies for the “healthy” claim would further support the FDA’s goal of helping consumers more easily identify packaged food products that help them build healthy eating patterns,” it said.