by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
Did you know that there are restrictions on when a food product can be labeled as “healthy?” Thirty years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) developed standards that products had to meet to have “healthy” appear on their label. Based on the thinking at the time, products had to have less than specified amounts of fat, sodium, saturated fat, and cholesterol and provide at least 10% of the Daily Value (DV) for one or more of the following nutrients: vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron, protein, and fiber. The problem with these standards was that a highly sweetened breakfast cereal that had vitamin C added to it could be labeled “healthy,” but avocados, nuts, and seeds could not be labeled “healthy” because of their total fat content.
On December 19, 2024 the FDA issued an updated rule that provided new requirements that products had to meet in order to be labeled as “healthy” (1). In general terms, products must contain a certain amount of vegetables, fruits, “protein foods,” whole grains, and/or “dairy” and not have too much saturated fat, added sugars, or sodium. The “dairy” group includes not only cow’s milk, yogurt, and cheese but also “fortified soymilk and plant-based dairy alternatives with similar nutrient composition as dairy.” Thus, plant milks and yogurts “whose overall nutritional content is similar to dairy foods (e.g., provide similar amounts of protein, calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and other nutrients) and are used as alternatives to milk and yogurt” could quality for “healthy” on their label (1). Soymilk but also oat milk, almond milk, and other plant milks that meet these criteria could be labeled “healthy” in the same way that dairy milks could be labeled. This is a change from previous governmental statements which only included soymilk and yogurt in the “dairy” group.
I’ll provide more information about “healthy” on food labels in future posts.
Reference
- Food and Drug Administration. 21 CFR Part 101. [Docket No. FDA-2016-D-2335] Food Labeling: Nutrient Content Claims: Definition of Term “Healthy.” https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2024-29957/food-labeling-nutrient-content-claims-definition-of-term-healthy?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery. 2024.
To read more about “healthy” on food labels see: