In an effort to improve American diets, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday released a new definition of what it means for a food to qualify as “healthy.”
Products such as fruit-flavored yogurt, fortified white bread and sweetened energy bars will no longer be able to be labeled healthy if they exceed certain limits for saturated fat, sodium and added sugars.
At the same time, foods like salmon, almonds and even water will qualify as healthy for the first time.
The new definition reflects advice offered in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, developed by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services. The hope is that consumers who consider health claims on packaged foods as they fill their shopping carts will be steered toward a more nutritious eating pattern, the FDA said.
There's no doubt that Americans could use some help with their diets. For example, less than half of American adults eat a piece of fruit on a given day, and only 12% consume the recommended 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit per day, according to national surveys by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. and Disease Prevention. Americans are even further off the mark on vegetables, with only 10% meeting the goal of 2 to 3 cups per day.
On the other hand, 90% of us eat too much sodium, 75% eat too much saturated fat and 63% eat too many added sugars, the FDA said.
The new definition of healthy foods aims to change that by excluding foods with excess sodium, saturated fat and added sugars, even if they also contain valuable nutrients such as protein and whole grains.
Specific limits vary between food groups. The limits will also depend on whether a product is an individual food (such as cheese), a “mixed product” (such as trail mix), or a complete meal (such as a frozen dinner).
For example, for a dairy product like yogurt to be considered healthy, a single 2/3 cup serving can have no more than 5% of the recommended daily allowance for added sugars, 10% of the recommended daily allowance for sodium or 10% of the recommended daily amount of saturated fat.
Those limits translate to 2.5 grams of added sugars, 230 milligrams of sodium and 2 grams of saturated fat. A single serving of Chobani Strawberry Greek Yogurt would miss the mark because it contains 9 grams of added sugars. So would Chobani's “less sugar” variety, which has 5 grams of added sugars.
Sugar, salt and fat are only part of the new criteria. To meet the new definition of healthy, foods must contain a minimum amount of protein, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, or fat-free or low-fat dairy, the FDA said.
Whole foods like eggs, beans, seafood, and nuts will automatically be considered healthy if they are sold without added ingredients (except water). That makes foods like avocados, olive oil and high-fat fish like salmon eligible to be labeled healthy for the first time. Fruits, vegetables and fish can be a good option if they are fresh, frozen or canned, making them accessible to people with different budgets, the agency said.
However, products such as fortified breads, cereals, fruit snacks, granola bars and fruit punches will lose the label unless they are reformulated to meet the new definition.
Nancy Brown, executive director of the American Heart Association, said the new definition was long needed and hopes it will improve Americans' diets by motivating food manufacturers to create healthier products. However, he added that it would be more meaningful to require products to carry a nutrition label on the front of their packages, which he believed would make it easier for consumers to identify and select healthier options.
The previous definition of healthy foods, published in 1994, focused more on total fat and cholesterol. Nutrition scientists have since recognized that not all fats should be treated equally and that unsaturated fats found in nuts, seeds, fish and certain vegetable oils can reduce the risk of disease.
The old definition also required that foods provide at least 10% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron, protein or fiber. The FDA said it is shifting its focus from specific nutrients to larger food groups to help consumers develop a healthy dietary pattern.
Poor diet is a risk factor for many of the leading causes of death in the U.S., including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some cancers.
Food manufacturers will have three years to conform to the new definition, the FDA said, although those that meet the new criteria don't have to wait that long to start using the “healthy” label.
