Latest from Food Politics: USDA expands SNAP stocking requirements: Will this help?

The USDA requires retailers who accept SNAP benefits to stock a few fruits and vegetables.   Formerly, USDA required retailers to provide three varieties of food in each of four categories—dairy, protein, grain, and fruits and vegetables.   It ...

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By Marion Nestle September 30 2025 USDA expands SNAP stocking requirements: Will this help? The USDA requires retailers who accept SNAP benefits to stock a few fruits and vegetables.  Formerly, USDA required retailers to provide three varieties of food in each of four categories—dairy, protein, grain, and fruits and vegetables.  It allowed stores to meet these requirements by providing a few tired-looking produce items, such as the ones shown here from a Walgreen drugstore. USDA proposes to expand the number from 3 to 7. This is confusing.  I thought the USDA did this in 2016: Enhancing Retailer Standards in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Clarification of Proposed Rule and Extension of Comment Period. OK.  Whatever.  Let’s start with the press release, because I always enjoy USDA rhetoric: Secretary Rollins Strengthens SNAP Retailer Stocking Requirements to Make America Healthy Again. Right now, the bar for stocking food as a SNAP retailer is far too low, allowing people to game the system and leaving vulnerable Americans without healthy food options. These common-sense changes are designed to minimize benefit trafficking and skimming, among other fraudulent activities, while making more nutritious foods available to families who rely on the program….USDA is actively reorienting SNAP towards better nutrition and emphasizing whole, healthy food for program participants. This includes approving 12 states to exclude certain unhealthy foods from purchase with SNAP benefits. If you want the details, check the Proposed Rule – Updated Staple Food Stocking Standards for Retailers in SNAP.  This offers complicated explanations of each food category: “The Department is proposing to subdivide protein into the following seven groupings of varieties: Perishable meat, poultry, or fish, including fresh or frozen versions for each different kind of animal; Shelf-stable meat, poultry, or fish for each different kind of animal; Eggs; Nuts/seeds; Raw beans, peas, or lentils, each of which would count as a distinct protein variety; Cooked (e.g., canned) beans, Peas, or lentils and multi-ingredient products with beans, peas, or lentils as the main ingredient; and Tofu/tempeh, together, would be a distinct variety from all other types of proteins and any other pea product as the main ingredient.” At first glance, this looks like a step in the right direction.  It will require stores that accept SNAP benefits to offer a greater variety of healhy food options. This is a no-brainer for Walmart or any other large grocery store.  They already do this. Therefore, this rule has to be understood as being aimed at bodegas as well as at Dollar stores located in areas where no other retail foods are readily available. That is why this proposal is considered a ‘mixed bag’ for both retailers and shoppers. Such stores, widely frequented by SNAP recipients whose payments are likely to constitute significant percentages of sales, will have a hard time meeting these requ.  They already had trouble meeting the existing requirements. This proposal does not seem to be accompanied by incentives to SNAP recipients to buy fruits and vegetables. As detailed in an issue brief by Healthy Eating Research, The Current State of Knowledge on SNAP Restrictions and Disincentives, incentives would help.  Otherwise, the rising cost of fruits and vegetables can seem prohibitive. The proposal is open for comment—by November 24.  Here’s how. The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA, invites interested persons to submit comments on this proposed rule. Comments may be submitted by one of the following methods: Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to regulations.gov. Preferred method; follow the online instructions for submitting comments on docket FNS-2025-0018 or enter “RIN 0584-AF12” and click the “Search” button. Follow the instructions at this website. Mail: Comments should be addressed to SNAP Retailer Policy Division, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. The post USDA expands SNAP stocking requirements: Will this help? appeared first on Food Politics by Marion Nestle      Related Posts USDA is allowing states to ban sodas from SNAP: is this a good idea? Yes, if evaluated. Weekend reading: The USDA’s latest report on food assistance Trump administration will no longer collect data on food insecurity; shades of 1984   Coming Soon: What to Eat Now My new book What to Eat Now is a field guide to food shopping in America, and a treatise on how to eat well and deliciously. Forthcoming November 11, 2025 For more information and pre-orders, click here. You can explore the full archive of this (almost) daily blog at foodpolitics.com, where you'll also find information about my books, articles, media interviews, upcoming lectures, favorite resources, and FAQs. Visit the Site » ​​​​​​​ Marion Nestle Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, Emerita © Marion Nestle. You're receiving this email because you've signed up to receive updates from us. If you'd prefer not to receive updates, you can unsubscribe. Safely Unsubscribe • Archives • Preferences • Contact • Subscribe • Privacy

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Latest from Food Politics: Industry funded review of the week: Yogurt and Type 2 Diabetes

When I saw this article in the Journal of Nutrition, my first question was, “Who paid for it? ” The article: Yogurt and Reduced Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Exploring the Food and Drug Administration Qualified Health Claim and Potential Implications for ...

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By Marion Nestle September 29 2025 Industry funded review of the week: Yogurt and Type 2 Diabetes When I saw this article in the Journal of Nutrition, my first question was, “Who paid for it?” The article: Yogurt and Reduced Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Exploring the Food and Drug Administration Qualified Health Claim and Potential Implications for Improving Public Health. Freitas, Miguel et al. The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 155, Issue 8, 2475 – 2484 The premise: “As yogurt is a component of the underconsumed dairy food group within the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, communication on the relationship between yogurt and T2D risk can help encourage the public to increase intake of yogurt and, with it, nutrients of public health concern such as calcium.” The discussion: the article summarizes a symposium about the FDA’s approval of a qualified health claim for yogurt and type 2 diabetes. Funding: This symposium was sponsored by and funded by Danone North America. Conflicts of interest: MF, AOC, and AB are employees of Danone North America. WRK is an employee of International Food Information Council. CJC is an employee of National Dairy Council. Comment: Danone, of course, makes Dannon yogurt and of course views it as underconsumed.  The company petitioned the FDA to allow these claims on yogurt products: “Eating yogurt regularly may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. FDA has concluded there is limited information supporting this claim.” “Eating yogurt regularly may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes according to limited scientific evidence.” After much research, the FDA concluded that “there is some credible evidence for a relationship between yogurt intake and reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, but this evidence is limited.”  Therefore, it “intends to consider exercising its enforcement discretion for the following qualified health claims: Eating yogurt regularly, at least 2 cups (3 servings) per week, may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. FDA has concluded that there is limited information supporting this claim. Eating yogurt regularly, at least 2 cups (3 servings) per week, may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes according to limited  scientific evidence.” Danone pretty much got what it wanted. To understand why I find qualified health claims nutritionally hilarious, I must point out that “may reduce the risk” also means “may not reduce the risk.” As I endlessly repeat, health claims are not about health; they are about marketing.   The post Industry funded review of the week: Yogurt and Type 2 Diabetes appeared first on Food Politics by Marion Nestle      Related Posts David Kessler hands RFK Jr and MAHA a gift: Define Ultra-Processed Foods as Not GRAS What the FDA is NOT doing about food safety: pet food What is the FDA doing about food safety these days?   Coming Soon: What to Eat Now My new book What to Eat Now is a field guide to food shopping in America, and a treatise on how to eat well and deliciously. Forthcoming November 11, 2025 For more information and pre-orders, click here. You can explore the full archive of this (almost) daily blog at foodpolitics.com, where you'll also find information about my books, articles, media interviews, upcoming lectures, favorite resources, and FAQs. Visit the Site » ​​​​​​​ Marion Nestle Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, Emerita © Marion Nestle. You're receiving this email because you've signed up to receive updates from us. If you'd prefer not to receive updates, you can unsubscribe. Safely Unsubscribe • Archives • Preferences • Contact • Subscribe • Privacy

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