Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Strategizes Ways To Combat Hunger, Diet-Based Diseases
The front-of-package labeling 鈥 which could come in the form of star ratings or traffic light images 鈥 would aim "to help consumers, particularly those with lower nutrition literacy, quickly and easily identify foods that are part of a healthy eating pattern," the White House said in a 44-page strategy report. The administration also said it would propose an update to the nutrition criteria for the 鈥渉ealthy鈥 claim on food packages. (Richards, 9/27)
The Biden administration is proposing that nutrition labels go on the front of food packages rather than the back. It's part of a strategy to end hunger and diet-related diseases in America in eight years 鈥 some 40 pages of ideas to try to make the nation healthier. (Bustillo, 9/27)
The Biden administration is releasing its proposal Tuesday to help reduce diet-related diseases and health disparities in the United States with the goal of ending hunger by 2030. (Carvajal and Luhby, 9/27)
The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, scheduled for Wednesday, will recommend a pilot program to cover medically tailored meals as part of Medicare Advantage plans. It is one of a laundry list of new plans proposed Tuesday by the Biden administration to "end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases and disparities." (Weintraub, 9/27)
In news about the Food and Drug Administration 鈥
Democrats have conceded to Republican demands and agreed to fund the Food and Drug Administration for five years without any extra policy reforms attached, according to four congressional aides, a move that will punt any additional fights over FDA policy to December. (Cohrs, 9/26)
Decades ago, people could hawk dangerous patent medicines and promise benefits 鈥 even when their concoctions might have catastrophic consequences. Then, several tragedies struck, killing and maiming children and adults in the name of health. Afterward, the United States created the Food and Drug Administration, the federal agency that today oversees and regulates prescription drugs, medical devices and other products. It was an 鈥渦nholy birth,鈥 writes Mikkael A. Sekeres, an oncologist and a former FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee chairman, in his new book, 鈥淒rugs and the FDA: Safety, Efficacy and the Public鈥檚 Trust.鈥 (Blakemore, 9/26)
There鈥檚 been no honeymoon period for the Food and Drug Administration鈥檚 new tobacco chief, Brian King, the public health scientist now responsible for regulating the nation鈥檚 multibillion-dollar cigarette and vaping industry. The problems facing FDA鈥檚 Center for Tobacco Products have only multiplied since King鈥檚 arrival in July from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The FDA missed a summer deadline to review nearly a million applications for e-cigarettes and other new products that use laboratory-made nicotine, some of which have become popular with teenagers. Meanwhile, the agency is still a year overdue in reviewing a backlog of hundreds of thousands of older e-cigarettes using traditional nicotine from tobacco. (Perrone, 9/26)