WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2016 – The FDA is amending a regulation to allow more fruits and vegetables to carry a health claim that they reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.=

To make a claim regarding the relationship between dietary saturated fat and cholesterol and the risk of coronary heart disease, FDA says a food must typically, among other requirements, contain a certain amount of vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, protein, or fiber and meet the definitions of a “low saturated fat,” “low fat” and “low cholesterol” food.

Some fruits and vegetables had been ineligible to bear the claim, the agency said in a release, because they do not meet the health claim requirements for containing a minimum amount of certain nutrients and/or they do not meet the definition of a “low fat” food.

For example, grapes, plums, beets, and cucumbers do not contain the threshold levels of vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, protein, or fiber and avocados do not meet the requirement for “low fat.”

The American Heart Association (AHA) in 2012 submitted a citizen petition asking the FDA to amend the existing regulation about health claims and the relationship between dietary saturated fat and cholesterol and risk of CHD. The interim final rule announced today – allowing fruits and vegetables ot make a claim that they reduced the risk of coronary heart disease – is the agency’s response to that petition. The FDA is not amending the health claim requirements for frozen or canned vegetables at this time, but it is inviting comment on the issue.

The Western Growers Association, which represents fruit and vegetable producers, applauded the FDA action, saying the rule will allow “additional opportunities for fresh produce to bear claims about the relationship between dietary saturated fat and cholesterol and risk of Coronary heart disease. 

“Western Growers has long advocated that a diet composed of the regular and generous consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, including tree nuts, is essential to a healthy lifestyle.  We appreciate the American Heart Association’s work to encourage more consumption of fresh produce for a healthy heart.”

This interim final rule is effective immediately and has a 75-day comment period.

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