Converging nutrition control across the Americas through a focus on ultra processed foods

Nutrition policy across the Americas is undergoing significant transformation, with increasing alignment between regulatory developments in the United States and major Latin American markets.

The United States has intensified its focus on diet related health through the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative, while Chile, Colombia and Mexico continue advancing governance frameworks centered on ultra processed foods (UPFs), ingredient transparency and child health protection. Together, these developments signal a regional consensus that industrial food processing and the widespread consumption of UPFs present systemic public health challenges requiring coordinated regulatory intervention.

United States

In the US, the MAHA Commission has accelerated scrutiny of food processing and specific ingredient classes. FDA and USDA are evaluating the creation of a uniform national definition of UPFs – potentially a structural shift in how foods are formulated, classified and labeled. This work runs parallel to federal reviews of synthetic color additives and other substances identified within MAHA as contributing to adverse health outcomes.

The release of the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, accompanied by a redesigned inverted food pyramid, further reflects this shift. The guidelines emphasise “real foods” such as full fat dairy, butter and red meat, and encourage increased protein intake. Overall, the approach moves away from nutrient based evaluation toward a more holistic view of diet quality and patterns.

At state level, California’s AB 1264 (2025) established the first legally-defined interpretation of “ultra processed food” in the US. The definition combines ingredient functionality criteria – emulsifiers, stabilizers, colors, sweeteners – with nutritional thresholds to determine UPF status. While this definition was established to regulate what foods may be sold and served in public schools, it aligns with federal guidance and may influence policy development in other states.

Latin America

Across Latin America, regulators are developing governance systems focused on processing level, choosing sustainable food and population level health outcomes. Despite differences in institutional structures, Chile, Colombia and Mexico are converging toward a shared regulatory architecture emphasizing UPF oversight, marketing restrictions and comprehensive dietary frameworks.

• Chile is progressing toward more detailed processing driven classification through proposed amendments to Law 20.606. Products containing more than five chemically or industrially-derived ingredients would require a mandatory “ultraprocesado” designation, embedding processing level as a regulatory trigger. This moves oversight beyond nutrient thresholds to include compositional and technological criteria, with additives such as stabilizers, emulsifiers, artificial flavourings and modified starches serving as key determinants. Chile is also expanding marketing restrictions for products with warning labels into digital environments, including social media and paid online advertising, addressing concerns about children’s exposure to UPF marketing.
• Colombia is redefining diet related health governance through Bill 367/2025C, which formally recognizes obesity and overweight as chronic, multifactorial diseases and sets national guidelines for prevention, early detection, comprehensive care, and follow‑up using a life‑course approach. It mandates action across key settings, such as workplace and education sector. For example, schools must ensure nutrition education, daily age appropriate physical activity, a healthy food offer, and psychosocial support. Together, these measures outline an intersectoral response to improve population health across the life span.
• Mexico is implementing its Healthy and Sustainable Dietary Guidelines (2025-2030), integrating dietary patterns, sustainability metrics and cultural relevance. The guidelines promote minimally processed, traditional food systems such as the milpa; explicitly identify UPFs as linked to higher cardiometabolic risk; and prioritize sustainable foods.

A consolidated regional pattern

Taken together, developments across the Americas reveal an increasingly coherent regulatory trajectory. Processing level is becoming a primary determinant of regulatory action; ingredient composition and functionality are gaining prominence; digital marketing controls are expanding; and dietary guidance is shifting toward pattern based, food system aware models. A unified regulatory logic is emerging that positions UPF reduction, heightened ingredient scrutiny and culturally-grounded dietary patterns as central pillars of public health governance.

How Leatherhead Food Research can help

Leatherhead Food Research supports organizations navigating this complex landscape through continuous global monitoring, interpretation of evolving UPF related requirements, and science led reformulation guidance. Through horizon scanning, cross market comparison and tailored technical advice, we help businesses anticipate change, manage operational impacts and build compliant, commercially viable product portfolios as regulations across the Americas continue to strengthen.