With the theme of World Food Safety Day (June 7) 2025 highlighting science as the heart of food safety, it is fitting that we focus our Insights this week on the newly issued MAHA report from the Presidential Commission to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA). At more than 70 pages long, the report provides the Commission’s assessment of the key factors exposed as “root causes of childhood chronic disease crisis,” intended to support “gold-standard” scientific research and the development of policy interventions.
However, since the report was issued, there have been various media outlets that have pointed out inaccuracies with the references and some of the facts in the report. Putting those aside for a minute, our take is that the report, at a high level, sends a very strong signal about where the current administration is going to put its energy and focus to “Make America Healthy Again.” So don’t focus on the details; focus on the big picture at this stage.
In the big picture, as an examination of disease factors, the report makes for interesting, sometimes alarming, sometimes inaccurate, reading about the state of today’s children. So, TAG has done its own review of the report and included accurate statistics (with citation) in place of those found to be inaccurate. We chose to still write about the report because, at its foundation, there is accuracy and relevance for the food industry – particularly as the intent of the report was to inform policy, thus, as noted, providing a look at the areas HHS intends to focus.
There is no doubt that we are seeing a transition in children from an active, physical play-based childhood to a sedentary, technology-driven lifestyle, and that this has impacts on health. Whether or not that makes them the “sickest generation in American history in terms of chronic disease,” is up for discussion, but the following are true (adjusted from misstated report facts, as applicable, with new citation):
- About 1 in 5 children are obese.
- Over 350,000 children have been diagnosed with diabetes.
- Childhood cancer incidence increased from 14.23 cases per 100,000 children in 1975–1979 to 18.89 in 2010–2019.
- Diagnosed anxiety increased by 61% among adolescents between 2016 and 2023, with suicide now the second leading cause of death in teens aged 15-19.
While there is a definite focus on foods as a causative agent, the report has a heavy concentration on behavioral, medical, and environmental drivers, showing the issue to be about a lot more than food intake. Additionally, the Commission sees the cumulative effect of the multiple exposures as the most lacking in research, thus causing the impact on children over time to be not fully understood.
But this article focuses on the 15 pages of the report given to ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and the minimal mention of other food causations. To put UPFs into perspective, the Commission cites research showing that nearly 70% of an American child’s calories come from ultra-processed foods, and “suggests that the industrial processing required to create UPFs—through additives and nutritional alterations—is a key contributor to their harmful health effects in children.”
Various definitions exist for UPFs, so for this report, they are considered to be packaged and ready-to-eat products formulated for shelf life and/or palatability, but typically high in added sugars, refined grains, unhealthy fats, and sodium and low in fiber and essential nutrients. It is the industrial processing that uses additives and nutritional alteration to create UPFs that, it is said, sets it as a key contributor to the harmful health effects. UPFs were initially developed post WWII, when the US responded to the destruction of much of Europe and Asia’s agricultural systems by increasing its ag output through mechanization, synthetic fertilizers, industrial-scale farming, and shelf-stable processing techniques to feed the world. While UPFs continue to play a key role in keeping people fed, their availability and typically low price point relative to other foods has led to an over-reliance, particularly in the US.
To combat the increase in UPFs and chronic disease, the Commission advocates for the critical need to put whole foods produced by American farmers and ranchers at the center of healthcare. One aspect of the report that comes over repeatedly is the need to support American farmers and make them a focus of creating food which will support improving health in America. But that can be difficult because of the challenges that small farmers and food producers face in complying with FSMA and HACCP, as many don’t have the resources, expertise, or capital to navigate the requirements. Thus, the Executive Order on MAHA directed the agencies to work with farmers, who are critical to the success of MAHA, to ensure that US food is “the healthiest, most abundant, and most affordable in the world.” Even while decrying the hazards of chemical exposure, however, the report acknowledges the reliance that farmers have on crop protection tools. So, it notes that thoughtful consideration must be given to what is necessary for adequate protection, alternatives, and cost of production when seeking to further regulate or restrict these beyond risk-based and scientific processes.
The only other mentions of contributing food factors are brief statements on pesticides, PFAS, phthalates, bisphenols, GRAS, and nutrition. Each of these, however, have caveats, noting that pesticide residues in food have been found to be within federal standards; FDA has restricted, and industry discontinued, use of phthalates; some bisphenols have been banned; and allergies, GRAS, and nutrition need further independent study and trials.
While the report extensively covers various factors the Commission has determined to be root causes of childhood chronic disease and states that the report is a “call to action,” in the end, it is just that – a call, without any specifically recommended action beyond further research. However, the food industry shouldn’t take this to say there won’t be action taken; rather, we recommend that all in a food business read through at least the section on UPFs (pages 20-35) to understand where HHS will be directing its focus and, likely eventually, regulation.
The industry should also continue to conduct its own science-based research, despite the report’s criticism of corporate influence on research. The report describes conflicting studies that generally showed industry research to find chemicals in foods to have fewer adverse results than non-industry studies and reproaches industry for suppressing unfavorable research and influencing scientific literature. But it is evident that, in addition to the misstatements of fact, the Commission does some picking and choosing of its own, focusing on research that supports its agenda. It is a widely recognized concept in research methodologies that research is inherently subject to bias as any study is influenced by factors such as the researcher’s own perspectives, the methods used, the context of the study, etc. However, no study (“gold-standard” or otherwise) should ever go so far as inventing sources or misstating facts, even if attributed to AI.
Having accurate, science-based studies from all sides of the fence is the only real way to ensure that balance is attained, and that the outcomes and ensuing action follow the 2025 theme of World Food Safety Day every day to keep science at the heart of food safety.
All written content in TAG articles, newsletters, and webpages is developed and written by TAG experts, not AI. We focus on the realities and the science to bring you the most current, exacting information possible.
