Nutrition · 24 Sept 2026
On nearly 150,000 new US foods, a health claim often did not mean a healthier product
Source: EurekAlert / Cornell University
What the research found
Study (marketplace analysis). Miguel Gomez and Pei Zhou report in Nature Food (EurekAlert 24 September 2026) on nearly 150,000 foods and beverages launched in the United States over a decade, using Mintel new-product data. Scored with the UK Food Standards Agency Nutrient Profiling Model, which penalizes excess sugar, sodium, saturated fat, and calories and rewards fiber, protein, and fruit and vegetable content, about two-thirds of the new products qualified as less healthy overall even though about half carried an on-package health claim. A reduced-sodium soda was disproportionately likely to add sugar. A no-trans-fat packaged meal often leaned harder on saturated fat and sodium. The claim can be technically true while the whole product does not improve. This is a shelf analysis, not a trial of any eating plan. Educational nutrition notes.
More nutrition news
- Eight weeks of a daily avocado and a cup of mango lined up with better blood-vessel function in 82 adults with prediabetes
- Eight months of medically tailored meals lined up with lower blood pressure and HbA1c in 110 adults with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure
- A clinical nutrition report says potassium intake belongs beside sodium reduction for blood pressure
- In 22 elite women who play Australian rules football, in-season protein intake and fat intake were lower than in pre-season
- A diet higher in ultra-processed food tracked more depressive symptoms in older adults