regulate

Feb. 16 (UPI) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to take action on a petition calling for increased regulations on ultra-processed foods.

Kennedy said in an interview on CBS News’s 60 minutes on Sunday that he wants to address concerns raised by a citizen petition to the Food and Drug Administration. The petition seeks to limit exposure to ultra-processed foods and ingredients to prevent the risks of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“There is no way for any American to know if a product is safe if it is ultra processed,” Kennedy said.

The petition seeks to make changes to the “Generally recognized as safe” exemption that allows food companies to verify the safety of foods and ingredients independently. Changes would include revoking the allowance of processed refined carbohydrates in food processing and removing such products from the shelves unless specifically authorized.

Kennedy said the exemption is a loophole that has allowed food companies to introduce “thousands upon thousands of new ingredients into our food supply.”

“This agency does not know how many ingredients there are in American food,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy clarified that it has not been determined that the Trump administration will regulate ultra-processed foods. The term “ultra-processed food” has not been defined by federal regulators.

Former FDA Commissioner David Kessler authored the petition. Kessler served under presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and was involved with “Operation Warp Speed” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kessler defined ultra-processed foods as refined sweeteners, refined flours and starches, and added fats and oils and salt. However, his petition is focused on refined sweeteners, flours and starches, which are processed refined carbohydrates.

Refined sweeteners include ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, glucose syrup and dextrose.

“These processed refined carbohydrates are central to the widespread availability of ultraprocessed foods,” Kessler writes. “This petition focuses on processed refined carbohydrates that are primary causal determinants of metabolic harm.”

Saudi Arabia has launched a project to issue passports for camels, in a move seen as a “qualitative step” to regulate the sector and strengthen the kingdom’s credibility in local and international markets, the government said on Wednesday, Anadolu reports.

A statement by the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture said Deputy Minister Mansour bin Hilal Al-Mushaiti inaugurated the camel passport project Tuesday evening.

The initiative is designed to organize the camel sector, document identity and improve service efficiency while enhancing market trust domestically and internationally, the ministry said.

The project seeks to record camels’ data, ownership and breeds and link them to verified health and regulatory information, making the passport an officially recognized reference that supports more efficient services, the statement added.

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The camel passport serves as a comprehensive identification document, containing a microchip number, passport number, the camel’s name, date of birth, breed, sex, color, place of birth, and date and place of issuance, as well as photographs of the animal from both sides to ensure accurate identification, the ministry said.

It also includes a dedicated vaccination table that clearly documents veterinary immunization records, certified by the name, signature and stamp of the veterinarian, according to the statement.

The ministry said the passport will help regulate sales and trading by tightening controls over camel sales, transport and official documentation.

In a census released in June 2025, the ministry said the total number of camels in the kingdom reached 2,235,297 heads.

Saudi Arabia ranks among the world’s top camel-owning countries, with an estimated 80,000 owners, according to unofficial figures.

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