Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Strategizes Ways To Combat Hunger, Diet-Based Diseases
NBC News: Biden Administration To Propose Nutrition Labels On Front Of Food Packaging In Push To Improve Health
The front-of-package labeling — which could come in the form of star ratings or traffic light images — 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 “healthy” claim on food packages. (Richards, 9/27)
NPR: Why The White House Wants To Put Nutrition Labels On The Front Of Food Packages
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 – some 40 pages of ideas to try to make the nation healthier. (Bustillo, 9/27)
CNN: White House Outlines Proposal To Reduce Diet-Related Diseases And Health Disparities In The US
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)
USA Today: Medical Tailored Meals Part Of Conference On Hunger, Nutrition, Health
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 —
Stat: Democrats Concede To Clean User Fee Agreement To Fund FDA
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)
The Washington Post: New Book Recounts The FDA’s ‘Unholy Birth’
Decades ago, people could hawk dangerous patent medicines and promise benefits — 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 “unholy birth,” writes Mikkael A. Sekeres, an oncologist and a former FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee chairman, in his new book, “Drugs and the FDA: Safety, Efficacy and the Public’s Trust.” (Blakemore, 9/26)
AP: Insider Q&A: FDA Official On Vaping's "Promise Or Peril"
There’s been no honeymoon period for the Food and Drug Administration’s new tobacco chief, Brian King, the public health scientist now responsible for regulating the nation’s multibillion-dollar cigarette and vaping industry. The problems facing FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products have only multiplied since King’s 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)
