The FDA, under RFK Jr.’s leadership, has rejected ANH’s petition to allow free speech about the relationship between nutrients and disease. It’s time to go on the offensive. Action Alert!
THE TOPLINE
- The FDA has rejected ANH-USA’s petition to allow truthful, science-based nutrient–disease claims, despite those claims being drawn from government sources.
- ANH-USA is preparing to sue the FDA, arguing the decision violates the First Amendment and the FDA Modernization Act by censoring non-misleading health information and denying consumers access to nutrition science.
- The ruling represents a missed opportunity under the Make America Healthy Again agenda, reinforcing a drug-centric healthcare system while keeping low-cost, preventive nutrition information out of consumers’ reach.
The FDA has formally rejected ANH-USA’s landmark petition seeking to open up Americans’ access to truthful, science-based information about the health benefits of nutrients. In response, ANH-USA will file suit against the FDA in federal court to challenge what we believe is unconstitutional censorship and a clear violation of federal law.
The importance of this case cannot be overstated. At a time when chronic disease rates are spiraling further and further out of control, and when we have a Health Secretary in RFK Jr. who rode into office on the wave of a grassroots Make America Health Again (MAHA) movement, our petition offered a golden opportunity: to empower Americans at the point of sale with information on how food and nutrients can help promote health and prevent disease—information sanctioned by the government’s own scientists. Yet instead of transparency, the FDA appears to be doubling down to protect a drug-centric healthcare system.
>>> Read the Nutraingredients USA and Citeline stories on the FDA response to ANH’s FDAMA petition
A Reminder: What Was in the FDAMA Petition—and Why It Matters
Our filing catalogued 118 nutrient–disease claims made by federal health agencies—claims backed by peer-reviewed science and publicly disseminated by the government. The petition ran more than 5,000 pages, documenting decades of research that FDA has effectively kept hidden from consumers.
Congress passed the FDA Modernization Act (FDAMA) in 1997 to prevent exactly this kind of censorship. The law explicitly allows health claims on foods and supplements when they are based on “authoritative statements” from trusted federal scientific bodies. But in 1998, FDA issued guidance that neutered that provision, blocking companies from using the science that government agencies openly share elsewhere.
The result? For nearly 30 years, Americans have been denied information that could help them prevent or manage chronic disease using safe, affordable nutrients.
What the FDA Just Did
In its denial letter, FDA rejected all of the 118 nutrient–disease claims included in ANH’s petition. While the agency admitted that the statute does not define “authoritative,” it argued that the statements of government scientists cited by ANH are not “authoritative” under the statutory framework established by Congress.
This position is astonishing, and to justify it the agencies have fallen back on relying on a long-standing disclaimer that we argue has no legal basis.
NIH’s Office of Dietary Supplements prominently labels its materials as “Information You Can Trust,” describing them as reliable and science-based. CDC likewise characterizes its public-facing content as science-based health information disseminated as part of its public health mission. Yet FDA now argues that these same statements may not be shared with consumers at the point of sale—on food or supplement labels, in grocery stores, or online.
So the government claims the information it is sharing is accurate, science-based, and intended to support public health—but it isn’t “authoritative.” Huh? This is bureaucratic doublespeak at its worst. It’s also an excuse to prevent point-of-sale claims for nutrients competing with those of drugs, the primary money-spinner for the FDA.
Ignoring the First Amendment
FDA’s decision flies in the face of the First Amendment. Under the landmark case Pearson v. Shalala, of which ANH-USA was a co-claimant, FDA may not suppress truthful, non-misleading health claims unless it can prove they are false. FDA did not even attempt to do that here.
ANH’s lawsuit will ask the court to enforce both FDAMA and the Constitution, restoring the public’s right to receive truthful health information at the point of sale.
Who Benefits from This Censorship?
FDA’s refusal to allow these claims does not protect consumers—it protects pharmaceutical profits.
As we argued previously, many of the censored nutrient–disease relationships overlap directly with conditions driving record-breaking drug sales:
- Diabetes: While drugs like Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Jardiance generate tens of billions annually, government-vetted research recognizes benefits from nutrients such as chromium, magnesium, zinc, and green coffee bean extract.
- Inflammation: Blockbuster biologics dominate the market, even though compounds like omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, boron, and Asian ginseng are recognized by government scientists for their anti-inflammatory effects.
- Heart health: The global cardiovascular drug market continues to explode, while nutrients such as magnesium, potassium, vitamins B1 and B12, vitamin D, and grape seed antioxidants remain sidelined.
By censoring nutrition science, FDA keeps consumers in the dark and preserves a pharmaceutical monopoly over healthcare choices.
A Missed Moment for “Make America Healthy Again”
Even more fundamentally, the FDA’s rejection of our petition represents a stunning missed opportunity.
With chronic disease rates soaring, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised to address the root causes of our failing health and increase transparency in federal health agencies under the MAHA agenda. Allowing Americans access to credible, science-based information about how food and nutrients support health would be an obvious step in that direction.
Instead, FDA doubled down on censorship and protecting drug industry profits.
What Happens Next—and How You Can Help
ANH-USA will now take this fight to federal court. Donations into ANH-USA’s 501(c)(4) legal fund are needed now support this and other legal actions – so please consider donating what you can. But legal action alone is not enough. Public pressure matters.
We need as many people as possible to speak out and demand that FDA and HHS follow the law, respect the Constitution, and stop censoring science that could improve—and even save—lives.
For too long, a door has been locked on a more transparent, nutrition-forward healthcare system. This lawsuit is about opening that door and giving Americans the information they need to make informed choices for themselves and their families.
Action Alert!
