It’s a Busy Time for Nutrition. What’s Happening
A current labeling change and possible future changes as well as FDA plans regarding botulism in baby formulas. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans were released a little over a month ago and schools brace for how to address reducing ultraprocessed food. As nutrition educators who teach in schools take note of Pilot Light’s (https://pilotlightchefs.org/) release of food education standards in K12 (https://www.foodpolitics.com/2026/02/weekend-reading-food-education-standards/). GLP-1s continue to be ‘in the news’ with a look at the use of them with teens and in food insecure households. In food news, Doritos and other snacks’ prices are to be cut up to 15% and a grocery item available for 80 years will disappear in April. I continue to be amazed at some products on shelves and I share a few that caught my eye including frozen pops w/electrolytes and an instant meal ready in…3 minutes! Lastly, a ‘just for fun’ section with mostly fun items and 2 nutrition terms you might want to be aware of.
A CURATED LIST OF MUST-READ CONTENT
The FDA gets Busy…
FDA says TV ads for new obesity pill has ‘false or misleading claims’ (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/09/fda-novo-nordisk-wegovy-tv-ad.html). The FDA is working on several fronts as they loosen the rule on the declaration of no artificial colors (https://www.fooddive.com/news/fda-loosens-rules-no-artificial-colors-label/811488/). Gluten is on FDA’s radar as they focus on gluten disclosure in food as part of their focus on ingredient transparency (https://www.fooddive.com/news/fda-food-label-policy-gluten-disclosure/810261/) and seek comments (https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-takes-steps-improve-gluten-ingredient-disclosure-foods).The FDA is also seeking feedback about front-of-package labeling by May 16th (https://www.foodpolitics.com/2025/01/fdas-front-of-package-nutrtion-label-open-for-public-comment/) and some may find Canada’s new warning label of interest (https://www.foodpolitics.com/2026/01/canadas-new-food-warning-label/). In addition, the FDA intends to test baby formula ingredients for botulism (https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2026/02/fda-official-says-agency-will-test-infant-formula-ingredients-for-botulism/). Lastly, FDA turns its attention to sugar in food that may include labeling claims, low calorie sweeteners and more (https://www.fooddive.com/news/fda-maha-sugar-food-policy-agenda/810491/).
The Dietary Guidelines and School Meals…
The inclusion of reducing ultraprocessed foods in the DGAs has enormous impact on school meals and the Chef Ann Foundation shares some of the pressure points involved (https://www.npr.org/2026/02/05/nx-s1-5691598/school-lunch-food-pyramid-usda-dietary-guidelines). A recent conference session at a School Nutrition Association conference shares what is known at this time ahead of the rulemaking process (https://www.foodservicedirector.com/k-12-schools/usda-to-begin-rulemaking-process-to-update-school-nutrition-standards-following-the-release-of-the-2025-2030-dietary-guidelines-for-americans). The School Nutrition Association also shares their perspective (https://www.foodservicedirector.com/k-12-schools/moving-the-needle-on-ultra-processed-foods-in-schools-could-take-years) and you can read relevant statistics (https://schoolnutrition.org/about-school-meals/school-meal-statistics/). Lastly, Dr. Marion Nestle’s British Medical Journal editorial in the DGAs is available (https://www.foodpolitics.com/2026/01/my-latest-publication-bmj-editorial-on-the-dietary-guidelines/).
GLP-1s…
As GLP-1s increase in use see a focus on different groups. Teens are one example as the balance between hope and long-term health issues is explored (https://www.smartbrief.com/original/experts-glp-1-weight-loss-drugs-for-adolescents-raise-hopes-and-worries). This is particularly important as we still don’t know much about long-term use (https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/its-2026-and-we-still-dont-know-much-about-long-term-glp-use-2026a10001up). Interviews with caregivers of obese children in food insecure homes explore what goes into decision making around GLP-1s (https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/themes-identified-for-using-glp-1-ras-to-manage-obesity-in-food-insecure-children). Other articles on GLP-1s include a pill form of Wegovy now available, how Ozempic works, future obesity medications and more.
Related News
- Weight returns 4 times faster after stopping Wegovy, Ozempic; faster than diet and exercise alone
- Wegovy pill now available at pharmacies & telehealth
- How does Ozempic work?
- Anti-obesity drugs in the future
- Anti-obesity medications: Will the food industry be the biggest losers?
Food…
Some snack price cuts are coming and a frozen juice around for 80 years will disappear this April. If you’ve seen Zero Sugar Oreos on the shelf, you’ll find a comparison to regular Oreos very interesting. And some new items on grocery shelves include (coming this April) frozen pops…with electrolytes, Pepsi with…prebiotics and instant dishes in…3 minutes!
Just for fun & new terms to know…
Food is everywhere and now you can buy a pie at some Ace Hardware locations. Some fun new terms: swangy, swicy, ‘heavy’ soda and seriously, nutritional dark matter (the future of food science) and a related term, foodomics.
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