RFK Jr. to target highly processed foods 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says it’s time for America to clearly define what “ultra-processed food” means, and to start doing something about it.

HHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will issue a formal Request for Information (RFI) to help establish a federal definition for ultra-processed foods, Kennedy announced last week.

“Ultra-processed foods are driving our chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy said in a release. “We must act boldly to eliminate the root causes of chronic illness and improve the health of our food supply. Defining ultra-processed foods with a clear, uniform standard will empower us even more to Make America Healthy Again.”

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H., expressed a similar sentiment.

“I am delighted to lead this critical effort at the FDA,” Makary said in the release. “The threats posed to our health by foods often considered ultra-processed are clear and convincing, making it imperative that we work in lockstep with our federal partners to advance, for the first time ever, a uniform definition of ultra-processed foods.”

No uniform federal standard currently exists for what constitutes ultra-processed foods, even though they make up a major share of Americans’ diets.

HHS said about 70% of packaged products in the U.S. are considered ultra-processed. On average, children get over 60% of their calories from them.

“Dozens of scientific studies have found links between the consumption of foods often considered ultra-processed with numerous adverse health outcomes,” HHS said, citing cardiovascular disease, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and neurological disorders.

A clear definition is “long overdue,” said U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

“President Trump has made it a priority to improve health outcomes for American families and communities,” Rollins said in a release. “And this Request for Information is yet another step in seeking commonsense ways to foster improved and more informed consumer choice.

“I look forward to continued partnership with Secretary Kennedy to Make America Healthy Again.”

As the process unfolds, Rollins vowed to ensure “the great men and women of the agriculture value chain are part of the conversation.”

The RFI is open to public comment in the Federal Register until Sept. 23.

Kennedy also has worked with food companies to encourage voluntary changes – including cutting artificial dyes from ice cream – and just announced the removal of thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, from all U.S. flu shots, the Daily Wire reports.