On Thursday, Sept. 29, Dr. Barry Popkin testified at a special U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) public meeting in support of policies to improve the American diet and diet-related diseases. He joined six other consumer, research, government, and industry representatives who were invited to comment before an Independent Expert Panel as part of an ongoing operational review of the FDA’s human foods program. Popkin’s comments focused on the high content of ultra-processed foods in the current American diet; the link between poor diet and non-communicable diseases, including obesity; and the global experience with regulatory options that can impact food purchases and encourage healthier choices. He provided evidence from Chile on the effectiveness of front-of-package warning labels, a policy that the current administration has prioritized in the Biden-Harris Administration National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health published this week.
The FDA’s Independent Expert Panel will continue accepting public comments on the agency’s human foods program operations through its online stakeholder portal until Oct. 7, 2022.