One of Kennedy’s priorities as HHS secretary has been to push back on ultra-processed foods and additives, an initiative that has garnered reluctant support from even some of his critics.
Under his tenure, the federal government has pushed food manufacturers to phase out petroleum-based food dyes and updated dietary guidelines to emphasize whole foods.
Appearing on CBS News’s “60 Minutes,” Kennedy told correspondent Bill Whitaker, “There is no way for any American to know if a product is safe if it is ultra processed.”
Since 1997, food manufacturers have been allowed to conduct their own safety research of ingredients before putting them on the market, foregoing approval by the Food and Drug Administration if the ingredient is Generally Recognized as Safe.
“That loophole was hijacked by the industry and it was used to add thousands upon thousands of new ingredients into our food supply. In Europe, there’s only 400 legal ingredients,” Kennedy said. “This agency does not know how many ingredients there are in American food.”
The secretary, however, added, “I’m not saying that we’re going to regulate ultra-processed food.”
There is currently no single definition of “ultra-processed foods” that is used by federal regulators, though the FDA and the Department of Agriculture are working to establish a uniform definition.
According to the NOVA system developed by researchers at the University of São Paulo School of Public Health, “ultra-processed foods” are defined as “industrially created food products” made with “additives to enhance the taste and/or convenience of the product.”
