AIBRIEF
Ultra processed food, a research category covering most packaged snacks, is on the Health and Human Services agenda, with a separate chemical disclosure rule alongside, but neither is filed.
The Health and Human Services agency has put two food-labeling moves on the table: a formal U.S. definition of "ultra-processed food" and a rule requiring manufacturers to disclose every chemical they add to a product. The proposals are part of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s push to overhaul federal food and chemical policy.
Calley Means, an HHS senior advisor, said on a FOX News Radio "Extra" episode released Saturday that Americans have been "poisoned at scale" for decades. Scott Faber called both proposals a good step but argued more is needed to remove harmful chemicals from the food supply.
Neither proposal has been filed yet. No Federal Register notice or HHS rulemaking docket has been published, and the food industry has fought transparency measures for decades, so a definition alone doesn't change what is on the shelf. The public comment window at FDA and HHS is where the line on both proposals will get drawn.
Ultra-processed food is a research category, not a USDA marketing term; it already covers most packaged snacks, from soft drinks to sliced bread, under the NOVA classification system that researchers use to study diet and health.