NEWS: Sanders Announces HELP Hearing on Food Labeling

The HELP Committee will examine how the FDA can reduce diabetes and obesity by requiring mandatory warning labels on unhealthy foods and beverages

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 - Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today announced that the committee will hold a hearing on December 5 at 10:00 a.m. ET about the urgent need for the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to adequately protect Americans - especially children - from unhealthy foods that are pushed on consumers by the food and beverage industry.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the rate of childhood obesity in America has tripled since the 1970s. Today, one out of every five children and over 40 percent of adults in our country are obese.

"For far too long, the food and beverage industry has been allowed to use deceptive and misleading tactics to entice children to eat foods and consume beverages loaded up with added sugar, salt, and saturated fats that are purposely designed to be overeaten," said Sen. Sanders. "The FDA can and must do more to ensure that Americans, especially children, teens, and their parents, understand the health risks associated with the consumption of these unhealthy and ultra-processed foods. It is time to make it clear to the food and beverage industry that their profits are not more important than the health and wellbeing of our children. Other major countries around the world have moved forward aggressively in this area and there is no reason as to why the United States is lagging so far behind."

The senator sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf and Jim Jones, Deputy Commissioner of the FDA Human Foods Program, inviting them to testify before the committee and discuss efforts made by the FDA to design front-of-package labels that would help consumers understand which products are harmful to their health.

Details
What: Senate HELP Committee Hearing on Food Labeling
When: 10:00 a.m. ET, Thursday, December 5, 2024
Where: Room 562 Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing will also be livestreamed on the HELP Committee's website and Sanders' socials.
Who: Witnesses to be announced