Happy Friday, and welcome to Food Fix. If you’re in this heat wave, I hope you’re staying cool!
New episode alert: This week on American Dish, I talked to a roundtable of reporters covering the Trump administration and MAHA: Tal Kopan (Boston Globe), Deena Shanker (Bloomberg) and Lisa Held (Civil Eats). It’s a good listen! Subscribe/follow wherever you get your podcasts.
Don’t miss out: The best way to make sure you don’t miss a beat in food policy is to upgrade to a paid subscription and get Food Fix in your inbox twice per week. Almost everyone who upgrades finds it valuable.
As always, I 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
***
Washington anxiously awaits official ultra-processed foods definition
The Trump administration’s push to formally define ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is fueling a new level of anxiety in Washington.
Refresh: The FDA and USDA last summer asked the public for information to help the government come up with “a uniform definition” of ultra-processed foods. This might sound simple enough, but, as I’ve previously written, there’s plenty of differing opinions in the space. The agencies received more than 5,000 comments.
The definition matters a lot because it will inform future policy (and potentially litigation) — and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. keeps saying he wants to at least better label UPFs, if not regulate them (it’s all very TBD). Kennedy had previously said that the ultra-processed foods definition would be out in April, but we are still waiting to see it.
This week, at the International Fresh Produce Association’s (IFPA) annual Washington meeting, Kennedy said that the definition is done, awaiting White House approval and should be out soon.
“One of the problems with regulating ultra-processed food is there is no definition,” Kennedy said during a fireside chat with Cathy Burns, CEO of IFPA. “As a result of that, we can’t really regulate. We’ve developed a definition for it. It’s sitting at OMB [Office of Management and Budget] right now. We anticipate that we’re going to be able to do a final publication over the next couple of months.”
This idea that a definition might be imminent has set off a scramble within the food industry, which has long argued that defining UPFs is too complicated and unfairly demonizes processing itself. There’s also growing anxiety about how a U.S. government definition could be used to help plaintiffs’ lawyers and even state attorneys general go after food makers in the future.
While Kennedy and others are saying that this is imminent, industry forces are still trying to stop it.
Labeling pivot: Kennedy again said this week that the Trump administration plans to use the UPF definition to come up with a front-of-pack labeling regulation.
“As soon as we do that, then we’re going to go to front of package labeling…the model that we’re looking at right now is a red light, green light, yellow light,” he said. “It’s going to make a lot of shopping easier for Americans.”
Nervous energy: The stakes are high here, whether you support the government defining UPFs or not. On one hand, folks in public health want to see a strong, sweeping definition. There’s a lot of hope that the administration will deliver on that, but there’s also worry that growing industry opposition could still throw a wrench in this whole process. I don’t know how this will turn out, but it’s one to watch closely. The administration has made defining UPFs a central part of the overall MAHA food agenda.
Definition watch: Right now when you hear the term ultra-processed foods, it’s usually referring to so-called Group 4 foods as defined by the Nova classification system, which was created by leading researchers in Brazil.
Nova defines UPFs as industrially created food products with multiple ingredients as well as additives to enhance the taste, texture or profitability of the product (think hydrolyzed proteins, sweeteners, stabilizers, flavors, etc.). A simpler way to think about this is foods you can’t make at home. You can bake cookies in your home kitchen, but you can’t bake cookies that have the same flavors, colors, texture and shelf stability as Chips Ahoy!
Critics of Nova (including many in the industry) argue that it oversimplifies things by focusing on processing, rather than the nutritional profile of the food. Some also worry it wrongly demonizes entire categories of foods that may be health-promoting, like yogurt or whole wheat bread.
Leading health researchers last month proposed their own consensus definition, hoping that it would help regulators. (As I wrote at the time, it was extremely difficult for these researchers to find agreement.) In the end, they essentially recommend using Nova but also exempting a narrow slice of products on the market that meet FDA’s definition of what can be labeled as “healthy.” If the Trump administration were to adopt this approach, it would put negative pressure on a large portion of what’s currently sold at American grocery stores. It will be interesting to see what the White House signs off on.
***
What I’m reading
RFK Jr. claims his calendar is publicly available. We’ve been trying to get it for a year (STAT). “Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday pointed to his ‘publicly available calendar’ as an example of his commitment to transparency and to beat back unfavorable reporting. But no such calendar, detailing who Kennedy meets with or how he spends his time, has been released by the administration,” reports Chelsea Cirruzzo and Daniel Payne. “STAT has been asking the Department of Health and Human Services for Kennedy’s calendar for more than a year, via Freedom of Information Act requests and emails to the press office. Kennedy came into office advocating for “radical transparency” and promising to open up government. His department has instead faced lawsuits over failures to release information, cut staffers who handle FOIA requests, and drawn anger from lawmakers, who can’t get responses to their queries, either. He’s even acknowledged that HHS blacklists certain journalists because leaders disagree with their work.”
Flesh-eating screwworm has reached the US — a comeback driven by organized crime (CNN). “When the US Department of Agriculture reported last week that it detected a case of New World screwworm in a Texas calf, ecologist Jeremy Radachowsky was not surprised,” writes Max Saltman. “Screwworms incubate exclusively in the wounds or orifices of warm-blooded animals such as cows, dogs, horses and human beings. The parasite had previously been eradicated in North and Central America through a multimillion-dollar, decades-long program of fly sterilization led by the United States. But Radachowsky and other researchers have warned for years that illegal cattle smuggling has quickened the return of screwworm to its ceded territory in Central America. It has since spread northward to Mexico, Texas and, as of this week, New Mexico. Cattle trafficking is a long-standing issue in Central America, where organized crime groups smuggle livestock, some of which carry screwworm, across borders without legitimate health screenings. The influx of cattle and their traffickers into the forests of Central America has had serious consequences, Radachowsky said, including receding tree cover, growing violence and the spread of new diseases.”
MAHA secures med school support for nutrition education curriculum overhaul (Daily Caller). “Over 19 medical schools signed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’s ‘Nutrition Education Pledge’ on Monday,” reports Spencer Lombardo. “The pledge aims to incorporate 40 hours of nutritional education into graduation requirements effective this fall, according to an HHS press release. Adding to the 54 schools that took the pledge earlier this year, some prominent names among the 19 new signees include the University of Massachusetts, University of Maryland, and Texas A&M University. The 40-hour standard requires medical students to achieve competencies in 71 areas including but not limited to: ‘Nutritional differences’ between ‘minimally processed vs highly processed foods,’ ‘Work[ing] with other health professionals for multidisciplinary nutrition care,’ and ‘Responsible use of AI for nutrition advice.’ Medical students previously received only 1.2 hours of nutritional education on average.”
USDA offers millions of dollars to support small meatpacking plants (Civil Eats). “USDA last week released a plan to support small meat processing plants through a set of regulatory actions and $60 million in new grant funding for plants to expand capacity,” reports Lisa Held. “At the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), policy specialist Connor Kippe said that most of the actions highlighted in the plan are not novel but that ‘the continuation of the programs is certainly a good thing for smaller meat processors and the farmers that work with them.’ For example, the USDA is opening a new $60 million round of grant funding for the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program, which was originally created by the Biden administration with $150 million in funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), as part of an agenda to address meatpacker consolidation. Four companies control more than 80 percent of the country’s beef market; close to half of U.S. cattle in 2025 were processed at just 11 plants.”
How grocers are catering to GLP-1 users (FoodDive). “The rise of GLP-1 weight-loss medications has created new avenues for health and wellness needs for consumers that grocers are trying to meet — resulting in a growing overlap between grocers’ food aisles and their pharmacies,” writes Peyton Bigora. “As more customers gravitate towards these medications, recent moves by grocers show how they are trying to establish themselves as destinations not only for the drugs themselves, but also for the food, beverages and guidance that can support the dietary needs of GLP-1 users. Publix’s latest GLP-1-focused initiative, announced Tuesday, is meant to serve as a guide for weight-loss drug users. The Florida grocer’s free ‘Create a lifestyle that lasts’ brochure aims to assist shoppers in finding foods and other items that support weight loss. Several popular new Kirkland private label items are packed with protein. But even if grocers aren’t directly marketing these protein- and fiber-centered products specifically for GLP-1 users, the diet trends stemming from the weight-loss drugs are apparent.”
Marshall withdraws sponsorship of bill to curb Prop 12 (The Hagstrom Report). “Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., on Thursday dropped his co-sponsorship of the Save Our Bacon (SOB) Act, which would negate Proposition 12, the California law mandating that pork sold in the state must be raised under certain conditions,” reports Jerry Hagstrom. “‘With all of the challenges facing farm country right now, Sen. Marshall is prioritizing year-round E15 and helping [Senate Agriculture Committee] Chairman [John] Boozman, [R-Ark.] get a farm bill done,’ said Payton Fuller, Marshall’s communications director, in an email. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is the primary sponsor of the bill, and there are still seven cosponsors. Boozman has said his draft farm bill will not include the SOB Act because his priority is to write a bill that can garner 60 votes in the Senate. Marshall’s decision thrilled opponents of the bill, while a pork producer said it is ‘particularly frustrating.’”
***
Why you should upgrade to a paid Food Fix subscription
Become a paid subscriber to unlock access to two newsletters each week, packed with insight, analysis and exclusive reporting on what’s happening in food, in Washington and beyond. You’ll also get full access to the Food Fix archive — a great way to get smart on all things food policy.
Expense it: Most paid subscribers expense their subscriptions through work. It’s worth asking!
Discounts: We also offer discounts for government, academia and students. See our subscription options. Individuals who participate in SNAP or other federal nutrition programs qualify for a free Food Fix subscription — just email info@foodfix.co.
Get the Friday newsletter: If someone forwarded you this email, sign yourself up for the free Friday edition of Food Fix. You can also follow Food Fix on X, Bluesky and LinkedIn.
See you next week!
