Happy Friday, and welcome to Food Fix. My thoughts are with Washington state, which will always be home (even from afar). Nearly 100,000 people have been told to evacuate due to catastrophic flooding in the Skagit Valley and elsewhere. The Skagit Valley happens to be a beautiful agricultural area that produces a big chunk of the world’s seeds for cabbage, beets and spinach, as well as tulip and daffodil bulbs. It’s a scary situation.
Don’t miss out: Friendly reminder that if you don’t get this newsletter twice a week, you are missing out. On Tuesdays, I cover even more topics. If you work in the food space, it’s worth upgrading. This week, I analyzed the meme era we’re in, and what it means for food policy. (Yes, really!)
As always, I truly welcome your feedback. Send me your thoughts by replying to this email, or drop me a line: helena@foodfix.co.
Alright, let’s get to it –
Helena
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SNAP restrictions coming soon for millions of people
Starting in January, millions of shoppers who rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to buy groceries will face new restrictions on what food items they can purchase with those benefits.
As of right now, 18 states – most, but not all, led by Republican governors – have been approved by the USDA to impose various purchase restrictions in 2026. Virtually all those states have opted to restrict sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, but there are also plans to drop candy and even some desserts out of the program.
This is a major departure from decades of policy: SNAP participants have always been restricted from using EBT benefits for alcohol, tobacco, toiletries or hot prepared foods, but outside of that, all food and beverage items have been covered. While the idea of restricting certain less than healthy fare from SNAP has come up intermittently over the years, it hadn’t ever been greenlit until the Trump administration.
MAHA milestone: In a way, this is the first significant food policy change under the Make America Healthy Again banner – and interestingly, it’s happening under the direction of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, not HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (The FDA, which falls under HHS, has announced intentions on changing infant formula rules and tightening up food additive regulation, etc., but none of that has happened yet).
While it’s a big change affecting millions of Americans, SNAP restrictions haven’t gotten a whole lot of attention amid the chaotic news cycle. However, that may be about to change as some states are implementing these restrictions as soon as Jan. 1.
Touting waivers: USDA has changed policy here not by issuing any new regulations, but by encouraging states to apply for restriction waivers. The administration also incentivized states to seek waivers by tying the potential for federal rural health care dollars to the policy.
“With these new waivers, we are empowering states to lead, protecting our children from the dangers of highly-processed foods, and moving one step closer to [President Donald Trump’s] promise to Make America Healthy Again,” Rollins said in a statement.
Top Trump administration officials appeared at USDA this week to tout the waivers (and also a new regenerative agriculture initiative). The lineup included Rollins, Kennedy and Mehmet Oz, administrator of CMS, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid.
“We cannot continue a system that forces taxpayers to fund programs that make people sick and then pay a second time to treat the illnesses those very programs help create,” Kennedy said in a statement.
The new states approved for restriction waivers this week include Hawaii, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.
First up: According to USDA’s website, there are several states lined up to implement restrictions starting in January: Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Utah and West Virginia. (So far, Idaho and Oklahoma have delayed implementation until February, according to a tracker by the National Grocers Association, which represents independent retailers.)
Florida is the biggie here – the state has nearly 3 million people participating in SNAP, and the state’s waiver is quite broad. It includes not just sugary drinks, but also candy and “ultra-processed prepared desserts.”
Buckle up: These changes are all unfolding quickly, and they have the potential to be chaotic. Retailers will be forced to police purchases in a way they previously have not, and SNAP beneficiaries may not even be aware of the changes. There’s a notice on the Florida state website, for example, but it’s not clear to me how widely this messaging has been shared. The Florida Department of Children and Families, which administers SNAP, said recipients will also receive updates through their benefits portal, text messages, and other program materials.
“Additionally, SNAP-authorized retailers will be provided in-store flyers to help identify ineligible items, which will be automatically blocked for purchase with SNAP benefits at checkout,” the agency said.
Still, it’s easy to see how this could all be confusing. Even if it’s widely communicated that “ultra-processed prepared desserts” are newly banned from the program in Florida, it would be natural to ask: What does that actually mean? What about a Krispy Kreme donut that’s sold “fresh” in a box in the grocery store?
What’s in, what’s out? If you look at Florida’s Q&A online, it suggests freshly-baked desserts are OK, just not pre-packaged ones. (Wait, what?)
“‘Ultra-processed prepared desserts’ means a processed, shelf-stable, ready-to-eat, pre-packaged sweet food intended for immediate consumption without any further preparation. This would include foods mostly made out of ‘chemically’ modified substances extracted from foods, along with additives to enhance taste, texture, appearance, and durability, with minimal whole foods,” the state says.
That means that products like Twinkies, Ho Hos and Swiss Rolls will no longer be allowed. But… “Freshly prepared baked goods can still be purchased with SNAP benefits.”
There’s going to be a lot of confusion about all of this – and each state is drawing their lines around restrictions differently. It could even vary from retailer to retailer.
Some states are scheduled to begin this policy on Jan. 1, which is a federal holiday. That means that state agencies likely will not be offering any assistance for the rollout on Day One – which critics say will only add to the confusion.
Measuring change: Zooming out, there are a number of important policy questions that need to be unpacked as these new restrictions roll out: How does the change affect SNAP participants? Anti-hunger advocates are very worried about increasing stigma and stress.
Public health advocates, meanwhile, are interested in figuring out if this kind of change actually shifts consumer behavior or, ultimately, health outcomes. As part of their waivers, states are required to have an evaluations plan. Of course, there are questions about how thorough these evaluations will be (or whether there’s adequate funding to do them properly).
More to come on all of this in the new year.
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What I’m reading
Botulism outbreak sickens more than 50 babies and expands to all ByHeart products (Associated Press). “Federal health officials on Wednesday expanded an outbreak of infant botulism tied to recalled ByHeart baby formula to include all illnesses reported since the company began production in March 2022,” reports Jonel Aleccia. “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said investigators ‘cannot rule out the possibility that contamination might have affected all ByHeart formula products’ ever made. The outbreak now includes at least 51 infants in 19 states. The new case definition includes ‘any infant with botulism who was exposed to ByHeart formula at any time since the product’s release,’ according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. … ByHeart, a New York-based manufacturer of organic infant formula founded in 2016, recalled all its products sold in the U.S. on Nov. 11.”
RFK Jr. eyes single national standard on food labeling and safety (Bloomberg). “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signaled that he was open to a national food standard, a top priority for food companies trying to navigate proliferating state laws,” reported Kristina Peterson. “‘It is on the table for discussion,’ Kennedy said in an interview Wednesday at the US Department of Agriculture with Secretary Brooke Rollins. For months, food companies have been signaling alarm about the patchwork of varying laws emerging in states including West Virginia, Texas and Louisiana, as more governors take up the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ agenda. The comments were notable because Kennedy has been one of the loudest champions of the state actions, traveling across the country to support governors signing state laws aimed at bolstering the safety and transparency of the food supply.”
Believer Meats ceases operations, but ‘setback’ does not mean cultivated meat sector is doomed, insists AMPS (AgFunderNews). “Cultivated meat startup Believer Meats – which is in the unique position of having both a large-scale production facility and regulatory approval to sell its wares in the U.S. – has ceased operations, its HR director has confirmed,” reports Elaine Watson. “Believer Meats (formerly Future Meat Technologies) has operations in Israel and the U.S., and is the fifth cultivated meat startup to secure an FDA ‘no questions’ letter confirming the safety of its products. It has also secured a grant of inspection and label sign-off from USDA. This gave it the green light to launch products in the US from the North Carolina plant, which bioprocess partner GEA said in late 2024 has the ‘capacity to produce at least 12,000 metric tons (26m lbs) of cultivated chicken annually.’”
USDA, HHS announce launch of Regenerative Pilot Program (Meat+Poultry). The USDA and HHS “introduced a $700 million Regenerative Pilot Program on Dec. 10 that aims to help producers adopt practices that improve soil health, enhance water quality and boost long-term productivity,” reports Rachael Oatman. “‘Protecting and improving the health of our soil is critical not only for the future viability of farmland, but to the future success of American farmers,’ said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. The agency stated the program builds off the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy, which was released in September. HHS is investing in research on the connection between regenerative agriculture and public health and is developing public health messaging that will explain the connection. The Regenerative Pilot Program, administered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), seeks to cut down the red tape for producers when they try to adopt soil health and regenerative agriculture practices.”
House Democrat seeks to impeach Kennedy for undercutting public health (New York Times). “Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan, a Democrat running for Senate, filed articles of impeachment on Wednesday against Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., making an all but certainly futile bid to charge him with undermining public health, diminishing decades of scientific and medical progress and imperiling the health of the American people,” reports Annie Karni. “In accusing Mr. Kennedy of an assault on the public health system that constitutes high crimes and misdemeanors, Ms. Stevens said the secretary had delayed biomedical innovation through the ‘far-reaching’ and ‘haphazard’ termination of working scientists. She cited Mr. Kennedy’s cancellation of $8.9 billion in federal research grants, and said he was ‘chilling medical innovation, including lifesaving clinical research’ in what amounted to a violation of his oath of office.”
Abbott fired a warning shot on baby formula – then launched a lobbying blitz (Bloomberg). “The company that makes one of the two most widely used brands of formula for premature babies is threatening to stop. That is, unless US health officials and Congress help protect it from lawsuits related to infant deaths allegedly tied to its product,” reports Anna Edney. “Facing potentially billions of dollars in legal costs, Abbott is throwing everything it has at the issue. Chief Executive Officer Robert Ford last year warned that the company may be forced to pull its preemie formula off the market. Since then, Abbott has invested millions in lobbying lawmakers, according to disclosure forms and other federal records compiled by Bloomberg. The company also has proposed transferring control of the sales and distribution of its preterm formula to the federal government to keep it on the market, Abbott told Bloomberg News in a statement.”
Lawmakers lead bicameral, bipartisan letter urging FDA Action on preterm infant formula fortifiers (Congress). Rep. Rosa DeLauro released a letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, along with Sens. Martin Heinrich, Roger Marshall, Jeff Merkley, as well as Reps. Madeleine Dean, Riley Moore and Jeff Van Drew, “urging action in the wake of over 1,000 lawsuits against preterm infant formula manufacturers in the United States, stemming from failures to warn parents of the increased risk of a serious gastrointestinal illness, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), associated with the use of non-human milk-derived fortifiers. ‘I will never support blanket liability protections for major companies because protecting our youngest and most vulnerable infants should be our highest priority,” said DeLauro. ‘We must take action to stabilize the preterm infant formula market based on the overwhelming scientific consensus that human milk is the best source of infant nutrition. That is why the FDA should quickly implement the actions outlined in this bipartisan, bicameral letter to increase the availability of human milk-based fortifiers and provide better information and potentially better options to parents, who should not be forced to guess what product is best for their child.’”
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