Eggs May Soon Be Officially Deemed 'Healthy' By The FDA
Coffee, red wine, and eggs always seem to be in a perpetual ping-pong game, bouncing between healthy and not-so-much. Every few years, a new study surfaces, changing what we have come to know as nutrition facts on the subjects.
As recently as 2021, a study published in PLoS Medicine concluded eggs had once again been returned to the unhealthy side of the court after being tied to a higher risk of death. However, a systematic review published just a year before that in 2020 concluded that, well, there is no conclusion on the correlation between egg consumption and health.
So, what's the latest verdict in 2022? Turns out the Food and Drug Administration is looking to redefine just what "healthy" is, and that is directly affecting how eggs are judged. This news is surfacing just a day after the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, a robust commitment to address challenges in such areas by 2030.
Egg-cellent news for egg lovers
As of September 28, the U.S. Food and Drug Association is proposing that the use of the term "healthy" on packaging be updated to reflect current nutrition science and dietary guidelines, per The Federal Register. The 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans eliminated concerns about dietary cholesterol. Based on that conclusion, the recommended revised definition of "healthy" would put the little but mighty ovum back on the healthy half of the net.
The proposed parameters on the "healthy" claim aim to consider the levels of all nutrients in foods and how that contributes to healthy dietary practices with a more holistic view, per the FDA. According to Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board, current science confirms, "...eggs are an all-around nutrient powerhouse, supplying nutrients such as choline, vitamin D, and essential fatty acids that are necessary for healthy living."
While not a finalized definition just yet, as the official rule by the FDA will be made after an allotted 90-day comment period, it looks like it may be time to get crackin'.