Cherries Are ‘Unhealthy,’ Says the Same Government That Once Pushed Low-Fat Pop-Tarts
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently revising its guidelines for nutritional content claims on food, including what products can use the term “healthy” on their packaging and marketing. Yes, the same government that came up with the food pyramid would still like to be seen as an authority on healthy eating.
A proposed rule from the FDA—expected to be finalized in the coming weeks—will likely declare that dried fruits like cranberries and cherries can no longer be labeled “healthy.” If the agency indeed follows through, this could be one blight that small and independent orchard owners and fruit growers across the nation may not be able to weather.
The agency’s proposed rule, announced all the way back in 2022, would prohibit dried tart cherries and cranberries from being called healthy if they contain added sugar. Given that these fruits make one pucker by their very nature, sugar is often added to make them more palatable—also doubling as a natural preservative. This additional sweetening does not inherently make them unhealthy, however. In fact, it merely equalizes them in terms of sugar content compared to more naturally sweet dried fruits, such as raisins (not to mention dried mangos, which are naturally loaded with sugar).
Cherries also contain antioxidants, in addition to being a source of fiber and Vitamins A and C, and research has suggested they can help with gout, arthritis, and heart health. Likewise, cranberries have been found to be helpful for everything from cardiovascular disease to urinary tract infections.
In states known for high levels of cherry and cranberry production, such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Utah, and Massachusetts, the ramifications of a no-longer-healthy declaration could be devastating. The Utah Tart Cherry Marketing Board has estimated that up to three-quarters of the tart cherry industry’s sales could be impacted by a rule change.
The FDA has taken a curious line of defense against these claims. As The Washington Post noted, in the cost and benefits section of the proposed rule, the agency quietly tucks in the following statement: “We estimate that a small number (0 to 0.4 percent of people that try to follow current dietary guidelines) of these consumers would use the ‘healthy’ implied nutrient content claim to make meaningful, long-lasting food purchasing decisions.”
In other words, while fruit growers think the rule will severely hurt them, the government says it essentially will have zero impact whatsoever. This begs the question: If both sides agree that this rule change isn’t helping anyone, why change it all?
Further militating against government inv
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