Concerns remain that DHHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and others within the Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, movement will place restrictions on many popular pork products as “ultraprocessed” foods. Scott Hays, Executive Director with the Missouri Pork Association, says it is a nuanced conversation.
“It’s a lot bigger than most people think. When we hear ‘ultraprocessed foods,’ we all think about the stuff that’s real close to the cash register at the convenience store. I think we can all agree on that, but it runs a lot deeper than that.”
Hays says some within the movement are promoting what’s called the “NOVA” definition, which would label several pork favorites as ultraprocessed.
“Under that definition, sausages, possibly even some bacons could end up in the ultraprocessed category. So we start to have a problem with that. When you don’t consider the nutritional value, you just talk about the amount of processing something has as the only unit of measure, you’re leaving a lot of important information out.”
Some pork producers are concerned that the ultraprocessed definition that is finally settled upon will have far-reaching implications for them.
“We’ve used processing for years for food safety reasons, for shelf-life reasons and we need to continue that. What some folks don’t realize is that the MAHA movement could dig back into animal feeds. So we have some concerns there.”
Hays says the pork industry is actively engaged in conversations with various federal agencies as discussions continue.