Avocados now qualify as “healthy” foods under the Food and Drug Administration’s new definition. In an effort to improve American diets, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Thursday released a new definition of what it means for a food to qualify as “healthy.”
Products like fruit-flavored yogurt, fortified white bread and sweetened energy bars will no longer be allowed to label themselves as healthy if they exceed certain limits on saturated fat, sodium and added sugars.
At the same time, foods like salmon, almonds and even water will qualify as healthy for the first time.
The new definition reflects the advice offered in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which are produced by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services. The hope is that consumers who consider health claims on packaged foods while filling their grocery carts will be steered toward a more nutritious eating pattern.
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