{"id":24600,"date":"2025-04-03T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T13:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=24600"},"modified":"2025-03-21T08:49:12","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T12:49:12","slug":"updated-fda-rule-establishes-new-requirements-for-foods-labeled-healthy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2025\/04\/03\/updated-fda-rule-establishes-new-requirements-for-foods-labeled-healthy\/","title":{"rendered":"Updated FDA Rule Establishes New Requirements for Foods Labeled \u201cHealthy\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD<\/p>\n

It may seem obvious that candy bars, potato chips, and soda can\u2019t have wording on their labels that suggests that they are \u201chealthy.\u201d However, as of March 2025, a highly sweetened breakfast cereal with a bit of vitamin C added to it can be labeled as \u201chealthy.\u201d Avocados, nuts, and seeds cannot be labeled \u201chealthy\u201d because they are too high in fat to meet the FDA\u2019s criteria. While candy bars, potato chips, and soda still can\u2019t be labeled \u201chealthy,\u201d a new rule (1) scheduled to go into effect on April 28, 2025 and that must be complied with by 2028, does not allow sugary cereals to be labeled \u201chealthy\u201d but allows avocados, nuts, and seeds to have \u201chealthy\u201d on their label.<\/p>\n

The new rule says that, in order to be labeled \u201chealthy,\u201d products must contain a certain amount of vegetables, fruits, \u201cprotein foods,\u201d whole grains, and\/or \u201cdairy\u201d and not have too much saturated fat, added sugars, or sodium. The \u201cprotein foods\u201d group includes beans\/peas\/lentils and nuts\/seeds\/soy products along with meats, seafood, and eggs.<\/p>\n

According to the FDA, \u201cthe \u2018healthy\u2019 claim can empower consumers by providing a quick signal on food package labels to help consumers identify foundational foods for building healthy dietary patterns\u201d (2). The FDA also clarifies that foods that do not meet the requirements to be labeled \u201chealthy\u201d are on necessarily unhealthy foods (1). In addition to restricting the use of the word \u201chealthy\u201d to food packages that meet qualifying criteria, similar words like \u201chealth,\u201d \u201chealthful,\u201d healthfully,\u201d \u201chealthfulness,\u201d \u201chealthier,\u201d \u201chealthiest,\u201d \u201chealthily,\u201d and \u201chealthiness\u201d also cannot be used unless specific criteria are met (1).<\/p>\n

Labeling a product as \u201chealthy\u201d is a voluntary action on the part of the manufacturer. Manufacturers don\u2019t have to label qualifying products as \u201chealthy\u201d but cannot use words like \u201chealthy,\u201d on products that do not meet the updated requirements.<\/p>\n

According to FDA\u2019s website<\/a>, \u201cThe FDA is postponing the effective date for the final rule, entitled \u201cFood Labeling: \u00a0Nutrient Content Claims; Definition of Term \u2018Healthy\u2019\u201d until April 28, 2025. The final rule was published with an effective date of February 25, 2025. The FDA is postponing the effective date in accordance with the January 20, 2025, memorandum from the President, entitled \u201cRegulatory Freeze Pending Review\u201d with respect to reviewing any questions of fact, law, and policy applicable to rules that have been published in the Federal Register<\/em> but have not taken effect.\u00a0\u201c<\/p>\n

References<\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Food and Drug Administration. 21 CFR Part 101. [Docket No. FDA-2016-D-2335] Food Labeling: Nutrient Content Claims: Definition of Term \u201cHealthy.\u201d https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/public-inspection\/2024-29957\/food-labeling-nutrient-content-claims-definition-of-term-healthy?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery<\/a>. 2024.<\/li>\n
  2. FDA Finalizes Updated \u201cHealthy\u201d Nutrient Content Claim. <\/strong>https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/food\/hfp-constituent-updates\/fda-finalizes-updated-healthy-nutrient-content-claim?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery<\/a>. 2025.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    To read more about \u201chealthy\u201d on food labels see:<\/p>\n

    Some \u201cPlant-based Dairy Alternatives\u201d Can Quality to be Labeled as Healthy According to an Updated FDA Rule<\/a><\/p>\n

    What Does \u201cHealthy\u201d on a Food Label Mean to You?<\/a><\/p>\n

    The Vegetarian Resource Group Testimony to FDA (Food and Drug Administration) Concerning the Use of \u201cHealthy\u201d on Food Labels<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD It may seem obvious that candy bars, potato chips, and soda can\u2019t have wording on their labels that suggests that they are \u201chealthy.\u201d However, as of March 2025, a highly sweetened breakfast cereal with a bit of vitamin C added to it can be labeled as \u201chealthy.\u201d Avocados, nuts, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24600"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24602,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24600\/revisions\/24602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}