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U.S. Food Policy at a Turning Point: Time to Remove Ultra-Processed Foods from Our Plates

A New Call to Action Urges Three Ways State and Local Leaders Can Act To Ban Additives, Improve Food Labels, and Restrict Marketing to Children

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Magnifying glass focusing on cholesterol and sodium on a food label.

The United States’ food policy is at a pivotal moment. We now have a chance to remove ultra-processed foods, the nutrient-poor “foods” made of lab-made chemicals and engineered to be addictive, from dinner plates and grocery store shelves.

Even with support from the “Make Our Children Healthy Again” report, this will take policy change at all levels. Local efforts are critical, particularly in schools.  Pediatricians can inspire children and families to exercise their consumer power and buy fresh, whole foods instead of ultra-processed chips, soda, chicken nuggets, and the like.

We suggest three policies to reduce ultra-processed food consumption by children and promote a healthier food environment for all Americans.

1. States Must Act To Address Harmful Food

Given how firms can declare food additives safe with no pre-market FDA approval through the federal “generally recognized as safe” or GRAS loophole, and the length of time it takes to change regulations on the federal level, state-level restrictions on potentially harmful food additives can fill federal gaps. Recently, several states have restricted common food additives, including brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and Red #3, and similar legislation is pending in more than 20 states.

2. Improve Food Labeling

The U.S. must adopt an easily understood food labeling system to communicate the effects of ultra-processed products and the overall healthfulness of whole foods to allow for strict regulation.

3. Control Food Marketing

Food marketing to children is exploitative. Research has found that young children’s food preferences can be influenced by the presence of cartoon characters on packaging. Given the potential to manipulate children’s dietary choices, UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) has found that food marketing violates their human rights.

The article “Decreasing Children’s Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods: A Policy Roadmap” was published October 24, 2025 in Pediatrics Open Science by Deniz Cataltepe and Senbagam Virudachalam.

Authors

Senbagam Virudachalam, MD, MSHP

Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine; Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Deniz Cataltepe, MD

Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellow, Mount Sinai Hospital

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