CITIZEN PETITION Re: Citizen Petition Requesting That the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Develop Voluntary, Measurable Added Sugars Reduction Targets for Processed, Packaged, and

The long-term goal of the guidance should be to facilitate added sugars reduction in processed, packaged, and prepared foods* to lower average population intake of added sugars to less than 10 percent of total daily calories at the end of 10 years, as recommended by the DGA.2 The guidance should include FDA’s plan for monitoring the added sugars content of the food supply and evaluating the food i. [...] The NSRI was a key initiative informing the development of the FDA’s sodium reduction voluntary draft guidance.21 It was launched in 2009, by the NYC DOHMH, as a partnership of approximately 100 health organizations and authorities from across the country who worked together to encourage the food industry to voluntarily lower the amount of sodium in packaged and restaurant foods. [...] Excessive added sugars intake increases risk for poor health outcomes High availability of added sugars in the food supply47 and corresponding high added sugars intake contributes to the poor diet quality of Americans.48 Excessive consumption of foods or beverages high in added sugars is linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes49,50,51 and CVD,52,53,54 in part by increasing the risk of weigh. [...] In 2021, the WHO Regional Office for Europe announced it would launch the Sugar and Calorie Reduction Network for the European region’s member states to facilitate the implementation and evaluation of similar sugar and calorie reduction programs and encourage product reformulation.130 The effort was set to launch in Spring 2022, but has yet to be released, and the WHO has chosen the United Kingdom. [...] At baseline and the 2.5-, 5-, 7.5- and 10-year marks, the agency should identify and publish a database of products within the subset of categories that represent the largest contributors to added sugars intake and that together account for the top 80 percent of sales within each food and beverage target category.