All of us have probably had the experience of browsing the aisles at the grocery store looking for healthy foods to take home for our families.  A few foods we find may include the word “healthy” on the packaging.  Did you know that the FDA has actually defined what “healthy” on a food label means?  Or that the FDA recently issued a new rule redefining the word “healthy”?  While the meaning of the word “healthy” may seem simple, it is actually much more complicated for FDA labeling purposes than you probably imagined.

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A couple of acronyms important to understand the new definition of “healthy” are FGE and RACC.  FGE stands for “food group equivalent,” and RACC means “Reference Amount Customarily Consumed.” … A food with a RACC over 50 g or 3 tablespoons can be labeled “healthy” only if it meets the FDA’s requirements listed below.

In order for a main dish to be able to be labeled “healthy” it must meet the criteria below:

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Labeling food as “healthy” is voluntary, and most foods don’t claim it.  However, manufacturers who choose to assert this claim must adhere to the regulatory definition of “healthy” to remain FDA compliant.

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