Petition Seeks for FDA to Revamp 'Healthy' Foods Definition

NEW YORK — Kind, LLC, has filed a Citizen Petition asking the Food and Drug Administration to update its regulations around the term “healthy” when it is used as a nutrient content claim in food labeling. Current regulations preclude nutrient-rich foods such as nuts, avocados, olives and salmon from using the term “healthy” as a nutrient content claim because of their fat content, according to the petition.

 

The F.D.A. in the May 10, 1994, issue of the Federal Register published a final rule on using “healthy” as a nutrient content claim in labeling. In regard to fat, the F.D.A. mandated that the term “healthy” only may be used as a nutrient content claim to describe foods, with the exception of fish and meat, that contain 3 grams or less of total fat per serving and 1 gram or less of saturated fat per serving. Fish and meat were required to have 5 grams or less of total fat per serving and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving.

 

“Kind, with the support from top global nutrition and public health experts, is respectfully urging the F.D.A. to update its current regulations surrounding the use of the word healthy as a nutrient content claim,” said Daniel Lubetzy, founder and chief executive officer of Kind. “The current regulations were created with the best intentions when the available science supported dietary recommendations limiting total fat intake. However, current science tells us that the unsaturated fats in nutrient-dense foods like nuts, seeds and certain fish are beneficial to overall health.”

 

New York-based Kind makes bars and “snackable” clusters that contain nuts, fruit and whole grains.