Kyle Diamantas, the Food and Drug Administration's deputy commissioner for human foods, hopes 2026 is the year for the Make America Healthy Movement.

In an interview with Politico, Diamantas said 2026 will be pivotal for advancing the Trump administration's MAHA agenda, including reviewing food additives and establishing a federal definition for ultra-processed foods.

Asked to reflect on his biggest accomplishment during the first year of the Trump administration, Diamantas touted the organization's work on getting petroleum-based artificial dyes out of products to help reduce chronic diseases.

"We know that these petroleum-based dyes have no nutritional value," Diamantas told Politico.

"And they're also used primarily to make foods more attractive for youth."

Another priority for 2026 is having a federal definition for ultra-processed foods.

"You see states like California that have defined it one way. There's other states like Massachusetts that also have legislation in the works to define it, and so it is a priority for us," Diamantas said.

"If we don't do it at the federal level, what you will end up with is a system where you may have 10 different states defining ultra-processed in a different way.

"And so then you have companies that may have to factor different state interpretations of what's ultra-processed," he said.

A new edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is set to be released next year, and Diamantas said the goal is to promote healthy foods.

"Whole foods, fruits, vegetables, proteins, dairy, beef, poultry, and minimize the consumption of ultra-processed foods that are high in things like added sugar," he said.

"I think you're going to see a real push to return to foods that, you know, our grandmothers would have cooked, for example, foods that you can make in the kitchen."

Diamantas said while it is difficult to define ultra-processed foods, he believes it is really important.

"There's some people that think it should focus just on additives. There's some people that think it should be on cosmetic additives.

"There's some that think it should just be nutrient density, you know. Some that think it should just reference added sugars, sodium, and fat," he said.

"If you go back to the Supreme Court case of 'what is pornography?' it's like, 'I know it when I see it.' That's sort of the current view of ultra-processed food."

Diamantas said the FDA isn't looking to ban people from eating ultra-processed foods.

"If you want to go have a box of Ding Dongs after this, you can do that. This is America," he said.

"What we're saying is people should understand what these products are, and consumers should make choices."

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