Free Market Coalition Urges Against Federal Definition for Ultra-Processed Foods

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance and fifteen other watchdog and free-market groups urged Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to reject a federal definition for ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which would likely result in labeling mandates and added taxes and restrictions. On August 3, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submitted a nonpublic document titled, “White Paper: Proposed Definition of Ultra-Processed Food” to the OMB for review.

Ross Marchand, Executive Director of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, offered the following statement:

“Families deserve to have all the tools at their disposal to make good choices and lead healthy lives. A federal definition for UPFs would make this process considerably more difficult. The financial burden of overhauling manufacturing and packaging systems would inevitably be passed down to the consumer, driving already-high grocery bills even higher for the families who can least afford it. Food is expensive enough without bureaucrats meddling even more and punishing struggling households.

“Any definition put forward by the HHS and FDA risks sweeping healthy and affordable staples like whole-grain cereals, low-fat yogurt, and canned beans into the same restrictive category as less-healthy foods. This ambiguity gives agencies broad leeway to expand their authority, leading to new mandates and taxes. Once a federal definition is established, states will layer on their own rules, taxes, and marketing restrictions, leaving food producers to navigate a costly and fragmented patchwork of 50 different regulatory regimes. Trial lawyers will also exploit the confusing new status quo, using broad and vague definitions to launch thousands of lawsuits. Millions of consumers—and the taxpayers funding state-backed lawsuits—will pay the price.

“We urge OMB to reject the proposed definition and allow families to make informed and healthy choices for their households. The HHS and FDA should be providing accessible and straightforward resources that help people build balanced diets without introducing new definitions, mandates, and taxes.”

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The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis, and dissemination of information on the government’s impact on the economy.