This Legal Development was updated on October 1, 2026.
Key takeaways
- On January 7, 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) jointly published updated dietary guidelines for 2025 to 2030.
- Key changes include reduced added sugar recommendations, a new inverted food pyramid, increased recommended protein intake, less prescriptive alcohol guidance, support for full-fat dairy products, and revised recommendations for saturated fats.
- The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025, signed on January 14, 2026, allows schools to offer higher-fat milk and exempts fluid milk from saturated fat limits under school lunch requirements.
On January 7, 2026, the HHS and the USDA jointly published the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
In announcing the updated dietary guidelines, the agencies stated their intention to help Americans make informed choices about healthy eating, consistent with current federal nutrition programs and policies. The agencies also released the Scientific Foundation for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which details the nutrition science underlying the recommendations.
Some of the key changes in the 2025 to 2030 guidelines include:
- Added sugar reduction: According to the new guidelines, meals should contain no more than 10 grams of added sugar, and children should avoid added sugar until age 10. This marks a reduction from previous guidance, which recommended limiting added sugars to 10% of daily calories and avoiding sugar for children until age 2.
- Introduction of a new food pyramid: The guidelines replace the MyPlate visual model with an updated, inverted food pyramid. This new approach places protein, dairy, and healthy fats at the core of each meal, while whole grains and other carbohydrates are positioned lower in the hierarchy.
- Protein intake: The guidelines emphasize high-quality protein. The recommended daily intake has increased from 0.8g/kg to 1.2-1.6g/kg of body weight.
- Alcohol consumption: The guidelines now advise Americans to “consume less alcohol for better health,” moving away from the prior specific limits of one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
- Full-fat dairy: Full-fat dairy products with no added sugars are now recommended under the guidelines—a shift from guidance recommending the consumption of low-fat or fat-free dairy products.
- Fats: The guidelines now recommend that saturated fat intake should not exceed 10% of daily calories. However, the guidelines highlight consuming foods naturally rich in saturated fats, such as red meat and whole milk. This is a departure from prior guidance.
In alignment with these recommendations, on January 14, 2026, President Donald Trump signed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025. This legislation revises the National School Lunch Program requirements, allowing schools to offer students 2% milk and whole milk, rather than only low-fat and fat-free options. The law also exempts milk fat in fluid milk from being counted toward saturated fat limits in school lunches.
Ashurst Perkins Coie is monitoring ongoing regulatory developments and will provide updates as new information becomes available. For further details or specific inquiries, please contact experienced legal counsel.
