What does the word “healthy” mean? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated the definition of “healthy” on food packaging, excluding some white bread, sugarycereals, and sweetened yogurts from the claim.This is the first FDA update of the label in decades. The previous “healthy” definition centered on individual nutrients, such as specific amounts of vitamins, minerals, fat, and protein in the product. However, the new definition emphasizes supporting a balanced, nutrient-dense dietary pattern.“Things have changed since the 1990s and the definition had to be updated in order for it to comply with modern nutritional science and the Dietary Guidelines,”Livleen Gill, MBA, RDN, LDN, president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and a registered dietitian based in Maryland, told Verywell.Food manufacturers have until Feb. 25, 2028, to comply with the updated claim, an FDA spokesperson told Verywell.Public health experts say the new definition will help guide consumers toward nutritious choices.“Having a healthy label with a very specific definition is a quick way to reference if you’re trying to shop for things and look for nutritious choices,”Melanie Hingle, PhD, MPH, RDN, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Arizona, told Verywell.Why the U.S. Surgeon General Is Pushing for Cancer Warning Labels on AlcoholWhat Does the FDA Consider Healthy?To meet the FDA’s updated definition of “healthy,” a product must contain a certain amount of food from one of the food groups—like fruits, vegetables, or dairy—and stay below specified limits for saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars.Foods that qualify in this new definition include fresh or frozen whole fruits and vegetables, salmon, trail mix with nuts and dried fruits, eggs, and plain low-fat yogurt. Even water counts.The limits on added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat vary for different food types. A 2/3 cup of yogurt, for example, can have at most 2.5 grams of added sugar, 230 milligrams of sodium, and 2 grams of saturated fat.“As registered dietitians, we’ve always been saying: Cut the salt, skip the sugar, trim the saturated fat,” Gill said.Previously, foods had to stay below certain limits for total fat, saturated fat, sodium, and dietary cholesterol. The new label now only limits saturated fats, sodium, and added sugar.This change instead recommendsunsaturated fat—such as salmon, avocados, nuts, seeds, and100% olive oils—to qualify for the “healthy” claim.Current evidence suggests thatunsaturated fatsoffer heart health benefits, especially when used in place of saturated fat sources.Cut Back on Meat, Load Up on Beans: Changes To Expect for U.S. Dietary GuidelinesFDA Wants a ‘Healthy’ Symbol for Food PackagesThe FDA wants to develop a symbol that food manufacturers could use on items that meet the “healthy” criteria.“Symbols may be particularly helpful for those who are less familiar with nutrition information to identify foods that can be the foundation of a healthy eating pattern,” an FDA spokesperson said.Other countries already do this. The United Kingdom uses a traffic-light style system to indicate if foods have high (red), medium (amber), or low (green) amounts of salt, sugar, and fat.Australia and New Zealand use an image featuring one-half to 5 stars to grade the food’s overall nutritional quality.Will The New Healthy Claim Lead to Healthier Diets?In recent years, nutrition science has started prioritizing a person’s overall dietary pattern instead of the consumption of individual nutrients, like calcium or vitamin A.This idea is reflected in the most recent Dietary Guidelines and the FDA’s new definition of “healthy.”“We know that it’s not a single food that makes or breaks your diet, but it’s your overall way of eating, consistently, that really impacts your health,” Hingle said.However, most Americans don’t follow the Dietary Guidelines’ recommendations.By updating the “healthy” definition, the FDA hopes to make it easier for consumers to find healthy foods on grocery store shelves, encourage nutritious eating patterns, and reduce the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.“It might serve to push food manufacturers to reformulate some products to meet the stricter standards. So in that case, we would all benefit, because the overall food supply would be a better nutrition quality,” Hingle said.But, if you start seeing the words healthy, healthier, or healthfulness pop up on more food packages, keep in mind that nutrition and health recommendations are not always appropriate for every person’s unique needs.“It’s all very individualized, what health means and what kind of foods are contributing to people’s health, even though we have these general guidelines. So it’s always good to kind of think about yourself in the context of the recommendations,” she said.These 7 Breakfast Staples Are Ultra-Processed. How Should You Decide Which Ones to Avoid?What This Means For YouThe FDA’s updated definition of “healthy” on food labels aims to help consumers make better-informed choices. While the new standards encourage eating more fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats, individual needs vary. Use the updated “healthy” claims as a guide, but consider your personal dietary preferences and consult a healthcare provider or dietitian if you have specific health concerns.
What does the word “healthy” mean? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated the definition of “healthy” on food packaging, excluding some white bread, sugarycereals, and sweetened yogurts from the claim.
This is the first FDA update of the label in decades. The previous “healthy” definition centered on individual nutrients, such as specific amounts of vitamins, minerals, fat, and protein in the product. However, the new definition emphasizes supporting a balanced, nutrient-dense dietary pattern.
“Things have changed since the 1990s and the definition had to be updated in order for it to comply with modern nutritional science and the Dietary Guidelines,”Livleen Gill, MBA, RDN, LDN, president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and a registered dietitian based in Maryland, told Verywell.
Food manufacturers have until Feb. 25, 2028, to comply with the updated claim, an FDA spokesperson told Verywell.
Public health experts say the new definition will help guide consumers toward nutritious choices.
“Having a healthy label with a very specific definition is a quick way to reference if you’re trying to shop for things and look for nutritious choices,”Melanie Hingle, PhD, MPH, RDN, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Arizona, told Verywell.
Why the U.S. Surgeon General Is Pushing for Cancer Warning Labels on Alcohol
What Does the FDA Consider Healthy?
To meet the FDA’s updated definition of “healthy,” a product must contain a certain amount of food from one of the food groups—like fruits, vegetables, or dairy—and stay below specified limits for saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars.
Foods that qualify in this new definition include fresh or frozen whole fruits and vegetables, salmon, trail mix with nuts and dried fruits, eggs, and plain low-fat yogurt. Even water counts.
The limits on added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat vary for different food types. A 2/3 cup of yogurt, for example, can have at most 2.5 grams of added sugar, 230 milligrams of sodium, and 2 grams of saturated fat.
“As registered dietitians, we’ve always been saying: Cut the salt, skip the sugar, trim the saturated fat,” Gill said.
Previously, foods had to stay below certain limits for total fat, saturated fat, sodium, and dietary cholesterol. The new label now only limits saturated fats, sodium, and added sugar.
This change instead recommendsunsaturated fat—such as salmon, avocados, nuts, seeds, and100% olive oils—to qualify for the “healthy” claim.Current evidence suggests thatunsaturated fatsoffer heart health benefits, especially when used in place of saturated fat sources.
Cut Back on Meat, Load Up on Beans: Changes To Expect for U.S. Dietary Guidelines
FDA Wants a ‘Healthy’ Symbol for Food Packages
The FDA wants to develop a symbol that food manufacturers could use on items that meet the “healthy” criteria.
“Symbols may be particularly helpful for those who are less familiar with nutrition information to identify foods that can be the foundation of a healthy eating pattern,” an FDA spokesperson said.
Other countries already do this. The United Kingdom uses a traffic-light style system to indicate if foods have high (red), medium (amber), or low (green) amounts of salt, sugar, and fat.Australia and New Zealand use an image featuring one-half to 5 stars to grade the food’s overall nutritional quality.
Will The New Healthy Claim Lead to Healthier Diets?
In recent years, nutrition science has started prioritizing a person’s overall dietary pattern instead of the consumption of individual nutrients, like calcium or vitamin A.This idea is reflected in the most recent Dietary Guidelines and the FDA’s new definition of “healthy.”
“We know that it’s not a single food that makes or breaks your diet, but it’s your overall way of eating, consistently, that really impacts your health,” Hingle said.
However, most Americans don’t follow the Dietary Guidelines’ recommendations.By updating the “healthy” definition, the FDA hopes to make it easier for consumers to find healthy foods on grocery store shelves, encourage nutritious eating patterns, and reduce the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
“It might serve to push food manufacturers to reformulate some products to meet the stricter standards. So in that case, we would all benefit, because the overall food supply would be a better nutrition quality,” Hingle said.
But, if you start seeing the words healthy, healthier, or healthfulness pop up on more food packages, keep in mind that nutrition and health recommendations are not always appropriate for every person’s unique needs.
“It’s all very individualized, what health means and what kind of foods are contributing to people’s health, even though we have these general guidelines. So it’s always good to kind of think about yourself in the context of the recommendations,” she said.
These 7 Breakfast Staples Are Ultra-Processed. How Should You Decide Which Ones to Avoid?
What This Means For YouThe FDA’s updated definition of “healthy” on food labels aims to help consumers make better-informed choices. While the new standards encourage eating more fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats, individual needs vary. Use the updated “healthy” claims as a guide, but consider your personal dietary preferences and consult a healthcare provider or dietitian if you have specific health concerns.
What This Means For You
The FDA’s updated definition of “healthy” on food labels aims to help consumers make better-informed choices. While the new standards encourage eating more fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats, individual needs vary. Use the updated “healthy” claims as a guide, but consider your personal dietary preferences and consult a healthcare provider or dietitian if you have specific health concerns.
10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Food and Drug Administration.A fresh take on what “healthy” means on food packages.Food and Drug Administration.FDA finalizes updated “healthy” nutrient content claim.Food and Drug Administration.Use of the term healthy on food labeling.Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.Types of fat.National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Facts about polyunsaturated fats.National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Facts about monounsaturated fats.Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Cut down on saturated fats.National Health Service (U.K.).Food labels.Health Star Rating.About health star ratings.Dietary Guidelines for Americans.Top 10 things you need to know about the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.
10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Food and Drug Administration.A fresh take on what “healthy” means on food packages.Food and Drug Administration.FDA finalizes updated “healthy” nutrient content claim.Food and Drug Administration.Use of the term healthy on food labeling.Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.Types of fat.National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Facts about polyunsaturated fats.National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Facts about monounsaturated fats.Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Cut down on saturated fats.National Health Service (U.K.).Food labels.Health Star Rating.About health star ratings.Dietary Guidelines for Americans.Top 10 things you need to know about the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Food and Drug Administration.A fresh take on what “healthy” means on food packages.Food and Drug Administration.FDA finalizes updated “healthy” nutrient content claim.Food and Drug Administration.Use of the term healthy on food labeling.Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.Types of fat.National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Facts about polyunsaturated fats.National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Facts about monounsaturated fats.Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Cut down on saturated fats.National Health Service (U.K.).Food labels.Health Star Rating.About health star ratings.Dietary Guidelines for Americans.Top 10 things you need to know about the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.
Food and Drug Administration.A fresh take on what “healthy” means on food packages.
Food and Drug Administration.FDA finalizes updated “healthy” nutrient content claim.
Food and Drug Administration.Use of the term healthy on food labeling.
Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.Types of fat.
National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Facts about polyunsaturated fats.
National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Facts about monounsaturated fats.
Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Cut down on saturated fats.
National Health Service (U.K.).Food labels.
Health Star Rating.About health star ratings.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans.Top 10 things you need to know about the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.
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