Last month the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) petitioned FDA to issue voluntary guidance aimed at encouraging food manufacturers to lower added sugars in the food supply to amounts corresponding to less than 10 percent of total daily calorie intake within 10 years. 

The request is modeled off FDA’s voluntary sodium reduction guidance as well NYC DOHMH’s National Salt and Sugar Reduction Initiative, which is another voluntary program that aims to reduce the sugar and salt content of the food supply.    

The petition requests that FDA establish short-term (2.5-year), mid-term (5-year), and long-term (10-year) targets for added sugar content in processed and packaged food and beverages that contribute most to overall added sugar intake, with target reductions varying by food category. The petition also requests that FDA establish a public database of foods in the targeted categories with product information, including added sugar content, at baseline and at 2.5-year intervals, and that FDA provide public progress reports at 2.5-year intervals. Furthermore, the petition requests that FDA extent the scope of the guidance to cover prepared food and beverages (that most contribute to added sugar intake) if and when federal regulations are amended to require chain restaurants to declare added sugars (the subject of a separate CSPI petition).  

We will continue to monitor and report on this petition and other initiatives aimed at improving food nutrition.