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FDA to revoke 52 ‘outdated’ food standards of identity

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced plans to revoke 52 standards of identity (SOIs) for foods that it considers obsolete or unnecessary.

The changes, outlined in a press release published in July, affect canned fruits and vegetables, dairy products, bakery goods, macaroni products, and food dressings.

Made redundant: Dozens of standards of identity

The FDA published a direct final rule revoking 11 SOIs for canned fruits and vegetables no longer sold in US grocery stores, including seven standards for fruits containing saccharin or sodium saccharin.

It also proposed revoking 18 SOIs for dairy products, including milk, cream products, cheeses, and frozen desserts, as well as 23 SOIs covering bakery products, macaroni and noodle products, canned fruit juices, fish and shellfish, and food dressings and flavourings.

Public comments on the direct final rule are open until 18 August, while the proposed rules have a deadline of 15 September.

This marks the first stage in a broader review of the more than 250 existing SOIs, which were created in 1939 to prevent economic adulteration and ensure consistency in how foods were made and labelled. The FDA claims that many SOIs have been rendered redundant by modern ingredient labelling, food safety regulations, and advances in food production.

The action supports President Trump’s executive order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, which requires executive agencies to repeal at least ten existing regulations for every new one introduced.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr described the move as a way to “cut through bureaucratic red tape” and focus agency resources on what he called more urgent priorities.

Dairy industry calls for SOI modernisation

Some industry organisations, particularly in the dairy sector, have supported the modernisation of SOIs for years.

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), a lobby group for the dairy industry, has noted that almost one-third of all existing SOIs apply to dairy products. It has argued that the rigidity of the rules hinders innovation.

On its website, the organisation states: “If manufacturers use a new process or ingredient not specified in the standards, the product could be considered misbranded or adulterated. That’s why it’s critical for the standards to keep pace with food science discoveries, new technology and – most important – current consumer demands.

“Unfortunately, many food standards are lagging behind the market curve, hindering innovation and stifling industry growth.”

Symbolic deregulation?

Some regulatory experts have criticised the announcement as resource-intensive symbolic deregulation.

Sarah Sorscher, director of regulatory affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), told Ingredients Network that although removing these specific SOIs would not harm consumers, the motivation behind the move was questionable.

“These are essentially the vestigial organs of the regulatory state,” she said. “They remain on the books only because removing them takes time and effort.

“You wouldn’t operate on an appendix that’s not inflamed, and typically [the] FDA has had the common sense not to waste scarce staff time combing through the books to delete old regulations that no one is using.

“The only possible reason to do this ‘busy work’ is to comply with Trump’s 10-out, one-in rule, so the administration can claim a victory in its war on regulations.”

Sorscher warned that focusing on repealing outdated rules diverts attention from more pressing food safety issues.

“We would be much better off if the FDA’s beleaguered skeleton crew of regulatory staff were focused on new standards for lead in baby foods or guidance for food safety testing,” she said.

She added that SOIs continue to play a vital public health role, citing the standard for enriched flour that requires the addition of folic acid, which prevents more than 1,300 neural tube defects annually.

By contrast, she agreed that the 52 SOIs under review are either obsolete because the products are no longer manufactured, or because they are already covered by other rules that remain in place.