MAHA Commission Report: What’s Changing in Food & Pharma Oversight

The White House officially released the Make America Healthy Again Commission’s report on September 9. The main proposed changes include:

• Limiting or prohibiting the use of petroleum-based dyes in foods. The MAHA report calls on supporting plant-based, natural dyes, such as fast-tracking reviews of such additives.
• Post-market reviews of food additives. The report does not call for an outright ban of any particular additive, just that the FDA will study and research such products.
• Developing a standard definition of “ultra-processed foods”. Such foods have fallen under the microscope in recent years, but federal officials have yet to create a formal standard for the term.
• Increased oversight of direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising. The MAHA report does not call for banning or changing such marketing, only that federal regulators should be more alert to misleading and deceptive practices.
• The CDC is directed to update recommendations regarding fluoride in water.
• Drafting guidelines to limit the direct marketing of “unhealthy foods” to children. The report does not specify which foods meet the criteria of “unhealthy”. 

The MAHA report also casts a skeptical eye on industry-sponsored research. The report states, “The HHS Secretary will direct the FDA, CDC, and NIH to review participation in any projects or initiatives funded by food and pharmaceutical companies through the CDC Foundation, Foundation for the NIH, or the Reagan-Udall Foundation (FDA). The Secretary will require more transparency, as well as additional guardrails needed to protect public health from corporate influence.”

The immediate changes recommended by the MAHA report are relatively modest. However, it is important to note that the MAHA Commission did not rule out more stringent regulatory measures in the future, beyond what is spelled out in the report.

Another X-factor is what state Attorneys General will do once the final report is published. Some AGs may aggressively pursue actions against food and drug companies. Others may push back on the MAHA agenda. 

Womble Bond Dickinson will continue to closely monitor these developments, both at the federal and state levels. In addition to following the regulatory and legal implications, the Womble team will be covering and distilling the science behind the policy to give you a full, clear picture of the issues at hand.