Pallone and DeLauro Applaud FDA's "Healthy" Labeling Guidance

Press Release

Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today applauded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) announcement that the Agency initiated a public process to redefine the "healthy" claim on food labels. Pallone and DeLauro introduced legislation last November proposing a comprehensive reform of food labeling with the goal of eliminating misleading health claims on food packages and providing consumers with information necessary to make healthy choices.

"We applaud FDA's efforts to redefine the "healthy' claim on food labels," Pallone and DeLauro said. "American consumers should be able to trust that a food label's claims about health and nutritional values are accurate. Today's announcement is a good first step to bringing consistency and clarity to food labeling. We look forward to working with FDA to ensure that the Agency sets an appropriate "healthy' standard that consumers can rely upon when making food choices for their families."

As part of FDA's effort, the Agency announced it is requesting information from the public on the use of the term "healthy" in food labels, including how FDA should define "healthy" and how consumers understand and use "healthy" claims on food labels. The Agency will hold public forums in the future to solicit additional input from consumers and other stakeholders. FDA also announced a draft guidance advising food manufacturers that FDA will currently permit the "healthy" claim on foods that contain predominantly mono and polyunsaturated fats or on foods that contain at least 10 percent of the recommended daily value of potassium or vitamin D.

Pallone and DeLauro introduced the Food Labeling Modernization Act (H.R. 4061) to overhaul food labeling requirements to minimize confusing and misleading information on food packages. As a part of this legislation, FDA would be directed to revise regulations related to the use of "healthy" on food labels. Foods would no longer be able to be labeled "healthy" if less than half of grains in the food are whole grains, or if the food contains more than 10 percent daily value of added sugar per serving. Food labeling laws have not had a major update since 1990 and, as a result, labels do not provide the information that today's consumer needs to evaluate and compare food products in order to make healthy choices.

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