The Sustainable Food Policy Alliance is committed to developing and advocating for policies that increase access to healthy foods for all communities and help people make better-informed food choices while supporting a sustainable environment.
We make foods to support healthy, balanced lives, and we believe policies that affect the business of food should support people’s health, too. We are concerned about the continued rise in obesity rates and other chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, as well as food insecurity and access to healthy food, in the United States and globally. Collectively, our members strive to improve the nutritional profile of our products, reducing the amount of saturated fat, sodium, and sugar in our products, as well as increasing micronutrients, including essential vitamins and minerals. Each of us has set goals to do more. We have begun increasing nutrient density, lowering calorie counts per serving size across the diverse range of our products, and updating our packaging to contain smaller portions that encourage saving some for later.
SFPA member companies have long held that food companies can and should do more to reduce sodium in food products. That is why we supported the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) release of short-term voluntary sodium reduction targets. We firmly agree with FDA that reducing sodium levels can be a powerful public health action to reduce blood pressure, a leading risk for heart disease. These targets will help to guide the food industry’s efforts to continually improve the nutrition profile of products and ensure sodium reduction across the food supply. Click to read our full statement.
As SFPA, we will continue to:
- Engage with FDA on its Nutrition Innovation Strategy, including supporting a comprehensive update of the definition of terms important for people, like “healthy.” We have long maintained that FDA’s approach to healthy should be based on the most recent U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) and, beyond a single icon or symbol, focus more broadly on encouraging foods and meals that fit within a healthy eating pattern. Click to read SFPA’s comments on FDA’s Nutrition Innovation Strategy.
- Support continued access for children to school meals that reflect nutritional standards aligned with the current DGA. The National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs provide children access to nutritious food and set them up for a lifetime of making healthful dietary choices.
- Actively participate in the dialogue with FDA to remove barriers to innovation that provide healthier foods that people want, encourage consumption of smaller portions, and support education efforts that help people eat healthier diets.
- Continue to strengthen voluntary, industry-wide standards governing responsible marketing and improving the nutrition of foods marketed to families and children. We hold ourselves to high ethical marketing standards and respect each parent or gatekeeper’s right to make smart decisions about their children’s health.
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Read more about what SFPA member company is doing on nutrition:
