FDA to revoke obsolete standards of identity for food products

As part of a broader effort to make sure food standards best serve consumers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is revoking, or propose to revoke, 52 food standards that are no longer necessary or are considered “obsolete.”

By easing compliance requirements, the measure could foster product innovation in the processed food sector and streamline oversight for the FDA, supporting President Trump’s deregulatory goals.

“I’m eliminating outdated food regulations that no longer serve the interests of American families. Today marks a crucial step in my drive to cut through bureaucratic red tape, increase transparency and remove regulations that have outlived their purpose,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement.

According to FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, many of this “antiquated” food standards no longer serve consumers and stifle innovation that make food easier to produce or provide consumers with healthier choices.

The FDA’s Standards of Identity (SOI) for food, established in 1939, outlines what food products must contain and what is optional, as well as method of production and formulation. By updating its SOI, the FDA intends to maintain the basic nature and characteristics of standardized foods while allowing for more flexibility in its composition, manufacture, and to conform to changing consumer preferences.

Among those standards being revoked include those for canned fruits and vegetables sweetened with saccharine or sodium saccharin, 18 types of dairy products, and 23 types of food products including bakery goods, pasta, canned fruit juices, fish, shellfish, food dressings, and flavorings.

Related tickers: General Mills (NYSE:GIS), PepsiCo (PEP) Kraft Heinz (KHC), The Campbell’s Company (CPB), Kellanova (K), Hormel (HRL), Mondelez (MDLZ), Hershey (HSY), Conagra (CAG), WK Kellogg (KLG), Post (POST), J.M. Smucker (SJM).

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