Who even knows anymore what “healthy” food is? Well, you might soon have a better idea if the FDA gets its way. I’m Amy E. Feldman.
In an era in which people get their health information from Instagram influencers who’ve made ridiculous claims like drinking cold water causes fat gain, and eggplant juice helps weight loss, you probably understand why the FDA wants to create new standards for food manufacturers who want to label their products “healthy.”
Under a new proposed regulation, the FDA will allow manufacturers to use the word “healthy” on the label if the food contains a meaningful portion of its ingredients from at least one of the food groups (like fruits and vegetables) recommended by dietary guidelines, and if the product also adheres to specific limits on saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. The FDA is also developing a symbol that will identify the product as healthy to make it easier for those of us who don’t want to have to keep squeezing eggplant juice to figure it out.
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