I've been posting a lot about ultra processed foods (UPF) and how they might be treated in the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines. A couple months ago, a highly anticipated report was issued by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) that provided no clear guidance on the issue – largely due to the fact that there is not a definitional framework for what UPFs are. This was frustrating to many industry stakeholders who described the report as “highly conservative and a missed opportunity.” 

Since then, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has been confirmed as the Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department. Mr. Kennedy has been an outspoken critic of the food industry and UPFs in particular. He has advocated for eliminating foods altered to include added fats, starches, and sugars, like frozen pizzas, crisps, and sugary breakfast cereals from the American diet.  He has also argued that “entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA … are not doing their job.”

So, how do we expect Mr. Kennedy to react to the DGAC's report? I seriously doubt he will kick this issue down the road while ostensibly waiting for the industry or the government to find definitional clarity. Instead, I expect him to act on UPFs – and soon. But what that action will be is currently a mystery. Stay tuned.