The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has sent a letter to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, and FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Kyle Diamantas, recommending seven strategies for the FDA to reduce added sugar consumption. These strategies aim to empower consumers with better information for healthier choices, combat misleading marketing, and enhance the overall healthfulness of the U.S. food supply.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy has emphasized the urgency of reducing Americans’ added sugar intake, referring to sugar as “poison” and highlighting its clear links to childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. These concerns were detailed in the recent report from the Make America Healthy Again Commission, which he chairs.
Recently, President Trump made news by announcing that Coca-Cola would switch from high-fructose corn syrup to cane sugar for sweetening its beverages—a decision Secretary Kennedy praised as a positive step. Trump tweeted, “You’ll see. It’s just better!” However, nutrition experts agree that simply substituting one type of sugar for another does not improve health outcomes.
In their letter, CSPI urges HHS and the FDA to prioritize actual sugar reduction rather than just improving the taste of sugary drinks.
The seven sugar reduction strategies proposed by CSPI include:
1. Establishing added sugar reduction targets for packaged and restaurant food, similar to FDA’s existing sodium reduction targets
2. Mandating front-of-package nutrition labels that highlight when foods are high in added sugar
3. Encouraging companies to label their foods “healthy” when they meet FDA’s newly-updated definition of the term
4. Requiring chain restaurants to disclose how much added sugar is in their menu items
5. Defining “low added sugar” claims and taking enforcement action to prevent claims like “lightly sweetened” and “less sweet” on products that are actually high in added sugar
6. Ensuring shoppers can access full nutrition and ingredient information when buying groceries online
7. Addressing misleading marketing of toddler formulas, which contain added sugar and are not recommended for young children
CSPI concludes its letter by urging federal officials: “To make real progress, our country needs policies to reduce added sugars overall, consumed in beverages and across the American diet. … As you consider strategies to address the high rates of diet-related chronic diseases in the United States, we urge you to act quickly on the policy recommendations outlined in this letter to encourage food industry reformulation and to enable consumers to access the information they need to make healthy choices for themselves and their families.”
While the FDA has yet to publish its regulatory agenda, it recently updated the list of FDA Foods Program Guidance Under Development. Notably, the planned guidance to define low added sugar claims has been removed from this list. The Make America Healthy Again commission is expected to release its “Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy” report, following up on its earlier assessment, by mid-August.
