FDA Updates Definition of “Healthy Foods.”

Packaged foods in the U.S. will have to follow new rules in order to call themselves “healthy,” under changes finalized Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration.

It is an update of the agency definition originally created 30 years ago. The move aims to help Americans navigate food labels in grocery stores and make choices that comply with federal dietary guidelines — in hopes of reducing the rate of diet-related chronic disease, the FDA said.

As a rule, products that claim to be “healthy” must contain a certain amount of nutrition from one or more food groups such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy and protein.

And for the first time, the rule sets some limits on added sugars. Foods also must limit sodium and saturated fat to levels that depend on the type of product, the FDA said.

The change exempts foods such as sugary cereals, highly sweetened yogurt, white bread and some granola bars from carrying the “healthy” label, while allowing foods such as avocados, olive oil, salmon, eggs and some trail mix to to be used. Even water can now be labeled as healthy, the agency said.

“It is critical to the nation’s future that food be a vehicle for wellness,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in a statement. “Improving access to nutritional information is an important public health effort that FDA can undertake to help people build healthy eating patterns.

The new rule will come into effect in two months, and food manufacturers will have until February 2028 to comply. A label designating certain foods as healthy is still being developed, FDA officials said.

Under the previous rule, about 15% of products were eligible for the healthy designation, but only 5% made the claim.

First proposed in 2022, the change is a much-needed update to the “horribly outdated” guidelines, said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University.

“Big picture, this is a huge improvement from a 30-year-old outdated definition based on 40-year-old science,” he said.

The new rule recognizes that knowledge about diets and nutrition has advanced over three decades and that the previous definition did not match the dietary guidelines that are the foundation of federal programs and policies.

The Consumer Brands Association, a food industry trade group, said the new rule “continues to exclude some packaged foods, despite countless years of industry innovation to offer healthier options.

Sarah Gallo, an official for the group, said she was concerned that the new rule “is not based on clear and unambiguous scientific evidence” and does not fully consider the full potential economic impact on consumers.

The updated criteria are based on data that can improve public health, including diet-related chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, the FDA said.

More than three-quarters of Americans have diets low in vegetables, fruits and dairy, according to the FDA.

Nearly 80% exceed the limits for saturated fat, more than 60% exceed the limits for added sugars, and about 90% exceed the limits for sodium that can reduce chronic disease.