FDA proposes new food ingredient rule but skips defining ‘ultra-processed’

Robert F Kennedy Jr speaks at a press conference in Lexington, Kentucky, on 5 August. Photograph: Michael Swensen/Getty Images

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is changing its rules on how food manufacturers notify them of ingredients brought to the market – but the Trump administration has once again punted on defining “ultra-processed foods”, promising more details later.

While the move would close a regulatory loophole, it falls short of the administration’s promises to reform food regulations dramatically even as one of the biggest foodborne illness outbreaks unfolds.