What MAHA Wants in 2026

If 2025 was the year the Make America Healthy Again movement broke through, 2026 is the year the policy machinery catches up. The FDA, working in concert with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has published a Human Foods Program priority list for 2026 that maps out the specific regulatory changes coming this year. It’s an ambitious agenda — and whether you’re a MAHA supporter, a skeptic, or just trying to feed your family better, you should know what’s on it.

The Big Five Priorities

The 2026 MAHA agenda focuses on five major policy fronts. Each one, if executed, would represent a meaningful shift in how American food gets regulated. None of them are guaranteed — these are stated priorities, not finished rules — but the direction is clear.

1. A Federal Definition of Ultra-Processed Food

There is currently no official U.S. government definition of “ultra-processed food.” Researchers use the NOVA classification system, journalists use the term loosely, and consumers know it when they see it — but no federal agency has put a regulatory line in the sand. That’s about to change.

In 2026, the FDA will collaborate with the USDA and other federal agencies to develop a formal government-wide definition of UPFs. This matters because once UPFs are officially defined, they can be officially regulated — labeled, restricted in school meals, taxed, or excluded from federal nutrition programs. The definition itself is the first domino. Everything else falls from there.

2. GRAS Reform

“GRAS” stands for “Generally Recognized As Safe.” Under current FDA rules, food companies can introduce a new ingredient and self-determine that it qualifies as GRAS, without ever notifying the FDA. This loophole is how thousands of synthetic ingredients have entered the U.S. food supply with little or no agency review.

In 2026, the FDA plans to publish a proposed rule that would require companies to submit GRAS notices for all new substances claimed to be GRAS. This would effectively eliminate the self-affirmation loophole. The food industry has been quietly fighting this for years; the new administration is moving forward with it anyway. If finalized, this rule would be one of the most significant changes to U.S. food regulation in decades.

3. PFAS, Heavy Metals, and Contaminant Crackdown

The FDA has committed to releasing new exposure data on heavy metals and other contaminants — specifically lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and PFAS (the so-called “forever chemicals”). The agency is also expected to take regulatory action where the data warrants it.

This matters for two reasons. First, these contaminants disproportionately affect children, whose smaller bodies absorb a higher relative dose. Second, much of the existing regulatory framework was set decades ago, before modern testing could detect the levels of contamination we now know exist in everything from baby food to seafood. New exposure data means new regulatory baselines, which will mean new enforcement priorities for the food industry.

4. Infant Formula Modernization (Operation Stork Speed)

This is one of the more concrete and immediate priorities. Through an initiative called Operation Stork Speed, the FDA is conducting the first comprehensive review of infant formula nutrient requirements in decades. The agency will release exposure data on heavy metals and contaminants in formula and update the nutrient requirements based on current science.

This is a long-overdue overhaul. Infant formula has been one of the most opaque corners of the food regulatory system, and it has also been the source of some of the most serious recent safety failures — including the 2022 contamination crisis that left American parents scrambling for product. Modernizing the standards is a meaningful step toward making sure babies who depend on formula get something genuinely safe and nutritionally appropriate.

5. Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling

The FDA is finalizing a rule that would create a standardized front-of-package nutrition labeling program. The goal is to give consumers a quick, at-a-glance way to identify healthier choices without having to flip every product over and decode the Nutrition Facts panel.

Other countries have used similar systems for years — the U.K.’s traffic-light labels, Chile’s black warning octagons, France’s Nutri-Score. The U.S. version is still being designed, but the basic concept is well-established globally. If implemented, this would be the most visible change to the average grocery shopping experience that any of these MAHA priorities will produce.

What’s Not on the List (Yet)

It’s worth noting what the 2026 priority list doesn’t emphasize: pesticide residue limits, glyphosate restrictions, GMO labeling reform, and antibiotic use in livestock. These are all areas where some MAHA advocates have called for action. They’re not absent from the broader administration agenda, but they’re not on the FDA’s 2026 to-do list. Worth watching whether they show up in 2027.

The Skeptic’s Note

Stated priorities are not finished rules. The FDA can publish a proposed rule and have it sit in regulatory limbo for years. Industry can sue. Court challenges can stall. Administration changes can shift direction. So while the 2026 agenda is ambitious and the direction is real, none of this is locked in. Consumer pressure — yours and mine — is part of what keeps the political will to follow through alive.

Stay Ahead of the Policy Curve with RTNFP

Policy is slow. Your kitchen isn’t. Whether or not the FDA hits all of its 2026 deadlines, you can apply MAHA principles to your own grocery list right now. That’s exactly what Rock The New Food Pyramid is built for: cutting through regulatory noise and giving you the practical know-how to feed your family well today. Thanks for caring enough to follow this stuff — it’s how the change actually happens.

Stay informed. Eat real. Rock The New Food Pyramid.

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