Yesterday, President Trump said he didn't like the term “artificial” in “Artificial Intelligence” (AI) because AI is “not artificial, it's genius.” Many food companies don't like the word “ultraprocessed" - a term quickly becoming synonymous for consumers with the green “yucky stickers” of the 1980s put on poisons. Most troubling for the industry is that there is no uniform understanding of how big the umbrella term is when it is thrown around - it can mean different things to different people and avoiding it could mean avoiding the consumer kiss of death.

Today, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued a joint Request for Information (RFI) to further the Administration's attempt to establish a federally recognized uniform definition for ultra-processed foods—a step the agencies say is critical to provide increased disclosure to consumers about the foods they purchase and consume. 

This is an incredibly important opportunity for food companies and their representatives to provide input on this effort. Reach out if we can help you navigate.