FDA to review ultraprocessed ingredients, but regulation unlikely

Food Dive reported the development on 2026-02-19. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the agency would “act on” a high-profile petition to reassess safety of commonly used additives, including high fructose corn syrup.

The report places the news in a wider commercial context. The Trump administration is preparing to "act on" a petition to review the safety of ultraprocessed ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, U.S. Health and Human Service Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, though he stopped short of calling for new regulation for the packaged food industry. Appearing on "60 Minutes," Kennedy said the administration intends to review a citizen petition filed by.

For the food sector, the practical implications extend beyond the immediate announcement. Kessler argued that new scientific information proves these ingredients shouldn't be allowed under the FDA's "Generally Recognized as Safe" system, an expedited approval process that's also come under scrutiny by Kennedy. “We will act" on the Kessler petition, Kennedy said on “60 Minutes.”.

Attention now turns to how companies, customers and regulators respond. “The questions that he’s [Kessler] asking are questions that FDA should’ve been asking a long, long time ago,” Kennedy said. Kessler's petition compared the food industry to the tobacco sector, saying ultraprocessed ingredients are designed to be addictive. Poor nutrition, Kessler wrote, is an epidemic that "rivals tobacco in its damage to human health.".