MAHA report puts target on ultraprocessed foods

A Trump administration report points to chemicals in ultraprocessed ingredients and the environment as among primary causes for a rise in chronic diseases, potentially signaling a shift in how certain foods are regulated.

The report, released last week by a presidential “Make America Healthy Again” commission, claims that exposure to food additives and other chemicals contribute to a variety of childhood developmental issues and chronic diseases, including obesity and diabetes. The group is expected to make policy recommendations based on the report in August, promising a “coordinated transformation of our food, health, and scientific systems.”

The report takes a sweeping view of the food system’s impact on health, highlighting the need for regulators to address how multiple additives or chemicals could interact with each other and pose risks to health. Processed foods are consumed “in complex combinations,” the report says, and potential “overlooked risks could be significantly impacting children’s health.

While the report calls for a “national initiative to map gene-environment interactions,” it stops short of recommending specific policies. Experts, however, say the report’s language could heighten pressure to require additional disclosures.

“Taken as a whole, this discussion represents a shift away from conventional regulatory science, which assesses risks from exposure to single chemicals, toward evaluating cumulative exposures to multiple chemicals in air, water, food, and consumer products,” law firm Sidley wrote in an update.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who leads the MAHA commission, claims ultraprocessed ingredients are “poisoning American kids.” He has railed against sugars and saturated fats, and recently pushed the food industry to voluntarily transition away from artificial colors before the 2027 deadline.

The report echoes much of Kennedy’s previous rhetoric around food ingredients. Ultraprocessed foods “have allowed us to save money and to ‘eat on the run,'” the report said, “but today’s over-reliance on UPFs is damaging the health of American children.”

Ultraprocessed grains, sugars and fats were called out as detrimental to childhood health in the report. It also names a number of food additives “of concern,” including artificial sweeteners, titanium dioxide, propylparaben and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Many of those additives have been targeted for accelerated review by the Food and Drug Administration.

Food companies have stressed that additives and ingredients have been rigorously studied and are safe for consumption. Still, some companies are accelerating efforts to transition to less-processed ingredients as regulatory and consumer pressure ramps up.

Skittles maker Mars removed titanium dioxide, a chemical called out by Kennedy that is used to whiten candies, from its supply chain at the end of last year, Bloomberg reported. PepsiCo has also sped up efforts to move away from artificial dyes as it looks to become a leader in the transition to natural ingredients.

A wholesale shift away from ultraprocessed foods, however, will be difficult for manufacturers, as these ingredients are used in the vast majority of consumer food products.

“Reversing their overconsumption will require structural shifts in how food is produced, distributed and consumed in the U.S.,” Paul Dawson, a food scientist at Clemson University, said in a blog post.