Category: Legislation

According to the Canadian Health Food Association, the Canadian supplement market has seen significant growth in recent years due to rising health awareness. In Canada, supplements are indeed allowed but are officially categorized and regulated as Natural Health Products (NHPs) by Health Canada.

Though often mistakenly associated with the original 1938 law, the Delaney Clause was actually a 1958 amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). This provision mandated that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prohibit the approval of any food additive if it was found to cause cancer in humans or animals. The clause became a landmark, albeit controversial, feature of American food safety regulation for decades.

Although the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 expired on September 30, 2015, the core child nutrition programs it supported continue to operate today. This continuation is made possible through ongoing annual appropriations by Congress, rather than a single new authorizing law.

According to research by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the average American who drinks regularly consumes hundreds of calories daily from alcohol without realizing it. This lack of awareness stems from a unique set of regulations that explain why alcoholic drinks not have nutrition facts displayed prominently on their labels.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, over 90% of the $4.5 trillion the U.S. spends annually on healthcare goes toward treating chronic conditions, many of which are closely linked to diet. Addressing this, the Food as Medicine Act is proposed legislation aimed at funding and expanding programs that integrate nutrition into healthcare to combat these diet-related illnesses.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, adolescents should limit daily caffeine, but there is no federal law preventing someone who is under 18 from buying Monster or other energy drinks in the United States. The regulations governing energy drink sales are a patchwork of voluntary retailer policies, local laws, and common-sense health recommendations.

Over 50% of American adults use dietary supplements, a market estimated at over $53 billion in 2023. In response to growing demand, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) was passed to establish a regulatory framework for these products.

Before 1994, mandatory nutrition information was not required on most packaged foods in the U.S.. The 1990 food label refers to the standardized 'Nutrition Facts' panel created by the landmark Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) of 1990, which required its implementation on most packaged foods sold in the United States.