What's hot in the healthier ice cream aisle?

It’s not always clear if ice creams are getting better for us...or just better at marketing. Should you go for a keto, plant-based, or protein-packed pint? Or pick one that adds olive oil, fruit, nuts, or fiber? Rule No. 1: Don’t confuse ice cream with health food. That said, you can scoop up a fabulous frozen treat without heading into Häagen-Dazs territory. Read on.

Peter's Memo: Our latest work on added sugar

Sodas, fruit drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, and other sugary beverages lead to unhealthy weight gain and are linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Here's a roundup of what we're doing to help people dodge the sugar flooding our food supply.

Reducing added sugar in school foods

Kellogg's urged not to peddle dessert for breakfast to school children

CSPI comments to USDA re: child nutrition program transitional standards

CSPI submits these comments in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Child Nutrition Programs: Transitional Standards for Milk, Whole Grains, and Sodium” final rule (87 FR 6984), which will provide necessary flexibility to schools for SY 2022-2023 and SY 2023-2024 as they respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. CSPI urges the USDA to align school meals with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, particularly with respect to added sugars, sodium, and whole grains in the rulemaking expected later this year.

The salty sweet truth about sodium and added sugars

Unhealthy dietary patterns, characterized in part by high consumption of sodium and added sugars, are a leading risk factor for mortality due to heart disease and other conditions. Specific dietary risk factors, including high sodium and sugary beverage intake, are estimated to account for a substantial number of deaths in the United States.

USDA, FDA urged to help Americans limit added sugars in schools, restaurants in 2 petitions

The federal government should help Americans avoid weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems by setting a new added sugars standard for school foods and by requiring restaurants to disclose added sugars, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Petition to establish an added sugars standard for school meals and competitive foods

To align the school meal programs with the DGA and reduce added sugars consumption among children, CSPI, the American Heart Association, and the American Public Health Association respectfully request that the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) establish an added sugars standard for school meals and competitive foods to align with the 2020-2025 DGA recommendation limiting added sugars consumption to less than 10 percent of total calories.

Citizen petition seeking FDA rulemaking to update the required nutrition information at chain restaurants to include added sugars for standard menu items

The petitioners request that the FDA amend its regulations to require chain restaurants to declare added sugars alongside other nutrition information they are already required to publish.

Nutrient warnings

In this factsheet, we review relevant, scientific literature on nutrient warnings for a science and policy audience. Overall, evidence from randomized controlled trials and real-world studies suggests that nutrient warnings can increase consumers’ understanding of the healthfulness of foods and have the potential to play a role in reducing purchases of foods and drinks high in calories, sodium, and added sugars. To maximize public health impact, policymakers should design nutrient warnings to be simple, highly visible, and convey information with shapes, icons, and other imagery in addition to text.