The National Pork Producers Council has held ongoing discussions with the Trump administration ahead of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans release. The NPPC has formally expressed concerns regarding the Food and Drug Administration’s forthcoming definition of “ultra-processed foods,” which could be damaging for consumers of pork products. The Council made several recommendations to the FDA, including to not classify food as ultra-processed simply because it doesn’t fit into one of the categories in the problematic NOVA classification system.
Such a sorting focuses on the food processing rather than the nutritional benefits. They’d also like the agency to not classify foods as ultra-processed that contain ingredients to enhance food safety, shelf stability, and nutrient availability. “As there is no consensus on what constitutes an ‘ultra-processed food,’ the FDA should elevate the importance of nutritional composition, while also protecting the processing and ingredients promoting food safety and nutrient availability,” the NPPC said.
-NAFB