MAHA Movement Sparks Industry Concern

The “Make America Healthy Again” movement led by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. deserves plaudits for focusing attention on issues like obesity and related chronic diseases, but the initiatives it’s putting into place—and inspiring at the state level—seem poorly suited to addressing those concerns, according to panelists who appeared Monday at IFT FIRST^®: Annual Event and Expo.

“I just wish they did it in way that was science-based and evidence-based,” said Martin Hahn, partner in the global regulatory group at Hogan Lovells US and one of the panelists at the Hot Topics Studio session titled “What the MAHA Agenda Could Mean for Your Business” and moderated by Kelly Hensel, deputy managing editor of IFT’s Food Technology magazine. “They seem to be laser-focused on ultra-processed foods,” Hahn continued. “There is no causal link between ultra-processed foods and weight gain. If you don’t have weight gain, you don’t have the link to chronic disease. The MAHA movement refuses to believe that.”

The MAHA agenda also is closely targeting certain ingredients, like seed oils and petroleum-based dyes, that don’t negatively impact human health, Hahn said. “That is a huge mistake,” he said. “Removal of certified colors is not going to move the public health needle one iota.” But companies will be able to say they removed those colors, and therefore their product is better for you, he added. “I am concerned with the MAHA agenda. It’s all about the sound bite.”

Maha Tahiri, CEO and founder of Nutrition Sustainability Strategies, a boutique consulting firm, drew a distinction between “what MAHA says and what MAHA does,” after drawing a distinction between herself and the movement. “I am not that MAHA,” she joked, adding seriously: “MAHA says they are focused on chronic disease and childhood obesity. … [But] MAHA is not covering some of the top issues that have science behind them, like sodium, like added sugar. I don’t know what they’re doing about it.”

Food technologists and food developers are well aware of the clean label movement that’s been underway for the past 20 years, but such activists aren’t always realistic about what can be easily accomplished, Hahn said. “It’s easy to sit up in your ivory tower and say, ‘Let’s get sodium benzoate out of the food system,’” he said, adding that it’s put in soft drinks, for example, to keep them from spoiling—and keep cans from exploding. “To the extent we can get ingredients out of the food supply, there’s an audience, but you have to be smart about it.”

Food technologists need to proactively define the future they want, not react to sound-bite pronouncements about taking out ingredients like food dyes, Tahiri said, adding that a science-based approach will “regain the trust of the consumer.” She also noted a Canadian study that showed sodium, sugar, and fat have been increasing in the food supply since 2020, after decreasing during the 2010s. “This is not the R&D community driving that change,” she said. “It’s the people who believe, ‘Taste is king. When times are hard, you need to put taste back in the market.’”

Hensel asked how food technologists should deal with MAHA-inspired laws being put on the books as well as lawsuits being filed. Hahn noted that the MAHA movement has been effective in getting state laws passed, including a ban on several food dyes used in school lunches in West Virginia. “We have got to get them [synthetic food dyes] out to be in compliant,” he said. “We need to be aware of what has been banned and formulate products today so we’re compliant.”

In some cases, though, companies need to formulate alternatives to balance MAHA’s standards with consumer preferences, Hahn said. “I know MAHA doesn’t like seed oils. I’m not advising people to move out of seed oils,” he said. Instead, companies should formulate a product that doesn’t contain them, and perhaps looks and tastes terrible. And then, he added, “When you are sued—and it’s going to be hard to avoid lawsuits—you have the ability to say, ‘We have an alternative brand that’s formulated consistent with the MAHA agenda.’”

The industry should be opportunistic and strategic in finding products that meet both regulatory and market goals, Tahiri said. “There are opportunities for reformulating that actually could please the administration without compromising the science, without compromising who you are,” she said. “If RFK is successful, it will be because he listened to the consumers.”ft