WASHINGTON — This time of year, it is natural to reflect on the achievements during the past 12 months. But more importantly, it’s time to strategically plan for 2024, a critical and pivotal year overall for nutrition policy as the outcomes will affect the baking industry and American consumers for decades.

Let’s take an inventory on what’s at stake in the new year.

2025 Dietary Guidelines

For the first time during the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans review, whole grains were deemed essential to the plate. On the heels of this major achievement steeped in scientific research and evidence, the 2025 review is examining broader themes such as staple carbohydrates and ultra-processed, which if not fully examined and put into context, could potentially throw nutrient-dense grain foods to the side, resulting in negative effects in dietary recommendations and consumption for all ages. Nutrient-rich whole and enriched grains are a great source for shortfall nutrients, including fiber, iron, folic acid and magnesium. Starchy vegetables don’t pack the same punch. In the name of health equity, let’s fight back the effort to downgrade evidence-based scientific guidance to check a box.

Likewise as to ultra-processed, let’s take opportunities to remind and educate Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) members and policy influencers that the proposed concept of ultra-processed foods (UPF) as a measure of diet quality is scientifically unfounded. Instead, it’s based on opinion and bias and subject to interpretation. Research on UPF is limited.

There are DGAC members who conclude that UPF classification systems are impractical as they are too broad to guide public health, diet quality; most importantly, not all ultra-processed foods are equal. Elimination of UPFs as suggested by NOVA authors may result in unintended consequences. This is another opportunity for industry to stress the importance of sticking to strong scientific and evidence-based data.

2025 School Meals Rule

As early as March, we expect to see the final rule updating meal patterns for Child Nutrition Programs. It will be important for the industry to re-emphasize the complexity of school foodservice operations as enhancements are finalized to serve the diverse student population with a goal of better serving all students equitably.

For many of our nation’s children experiencing food insecurity, these school meals are their only daily meals so delivering appealing, tasty, nutritious meals including under-consumed nutrients is critical. Nutrient-dense whole grain-rich and enriched products play an important role in these feeding programs.

The grain-based desserts (GBD) proposal within the proposed rule, limiting certain products without regard to their sugar content (many grab-and-go items) to no more than 2-oz equivalents per, would dramatically limit nutrient-dense, convenient, economical product options, especially at breakfast, and could lead to unintended consequences such as diminished student participation. We need to continue to push back on this approach.

Additionally, since there are more whole grain-rich breakfast options than lunch, there is a need to emphasize flexibility for products for which waivers have been historically sought (i.e., tortillas, pasta and rice). Lastly, let’s encourage the USDA to develop best practice sodium limits for the School Meal Program as part of its cross-government sodium reduction strategy.

WIC

On Nov. 3, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published a researched-based study that underscored the need for congressional funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). The FNS found that more than six million eligible individuals, 51% (6.2 million), do not participate in additional health benefits. These are moms, babies and children missing out on nutritional building blocks that help sustain health throughout their lives. WIC participation correlates with fewer infant deaths and premature births and lower health care costs.

The USDA has been working to upgrade the WIC program through modernizing outreach, improving shopping experiences, investing in the workforce, upgrading technology and service delivery. WIC participation correlates with fewer infant deaths and premature births, as well as increased birth weights — all resulting in reduction of health care costs.

Congressional funding is critical to keep fragile families from state waiting lists. For decades, WIC has been a bi-partisan success. Industry has an opportunity to vocally support this effort.

Nutrition, Hunger and Health

A second phase of commitments began in the spring of 2023 keeping progress flowing from the historic fall 2022 White House Conference on Nutrition, Hunger and Health with a goal to end hunger and increase healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so that fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases. This confluence of efforts has resulted in more than $8 billion of commitments and 9.4 million meals served and is a key driver for the important topics addressed above as well as other areas where we can expect to see action in 2024: healthy definition final rule and icon; front-of-pack labeling; sodium and sugar reduction strategies, and increased NIH nutrition research.

One thing is certain, there are big opportunities in 2024 for the baking industry to boldly make an impact on the collective outcome of nutrition policy, improving consumption trends.