The City\u2019s Department of Health<\/a> and the Mayor\u2019s Office of Food Policy on Tuesday said they updated the New York City Food Standards for Meals and Snacks Purchased and Served, first passed in 2008. The City says the new standards for city schools, hospitals, adult care and other facilities are designed to reduce the occurrence of chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, \u201cby increasing access to healthy foods.\u201d<\/p>\nThe updated standards take effect July 1, 2026, impacting more than one million New Yorkers and 219 million meals and snacks, including students, older adults, New York City Health + Hospitals patients, city inmates and others relying on meals and snacks from city agencies.<\/p>\n
The new rules expand restrictions on low- and no-calorie sweeteners in food and beverages for all ages from a previous limit that applied only to children age 18 and younger.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cDiet sodas are an example of a food with low- or no-calorie sweeteners, ingredients which were already been banned for anyone age 18 and younger,\u201d said Elizabeth Solomon, executive director for nutrition policies and programs at the New York City Department of Health. \u201cWe\u2019re expanding the ban on low- or no-calorie sweeteners to food and beverages served to all ages.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diet soda has zero calories or value, NYC says
\n![\"Mayor](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DSC_7228.jpg\" "\\"Bye,")
Mayor Eric Adams called the new standards a step toward improving the health of many New Yorkers, adding he turned his \u201clife around\u201d from being pre-diabetic with a plant-based diet.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n
She said these products have no place on menus offered by the city government, which had previously removed soda from its menus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t provide nutritional value. No evidence supports the use of these ingredients for weight maintenance and loss,\u201d Solomon said. \u201cThere\u2019s some evidence that they may have adverse health effects.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rules also set new restrictions on all artificial colors and certain flour additives and preservatives. \u201cWe\u2019re removing unnecessary and potentially harmful additives or ingredients, such as artificial food dyes,\u201d Solomon continued.<\/p>\n
They also increase requirements for serving whole or minimally processed plant protein foods and strengthen snack requirements to improve variety and nutrition.\n<\/p>\n
Every snack needs two of the following food categories: fruits, vegetables, grains, or proteins.\n<\/p>\n
Hummus and vegetables, fruits and cereal, cheese and crackers, and bean dip and vegetables are a few examples of what makes the cut.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be more plant proteins such as beans, nuts and seeds,\u201d Solomon continued. \u201cWhen agencies or sub-contractors serve a snack, they are now required to include at least one serving per week of fruit or vegetables.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some officials said this is about providing more healthy choices, designed to make a healthier city.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough the new standards, the New York City Health Department furthers its efforts to increase life expectancy by targeting chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease,\u201d Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse said in a written statement.<\/p>\n
And some watchdogs said they see this as a step toward a healthier city by improving nutrition for many New Yorkers.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to harness the power of government food policy to put healthy food within reach for everyone,\u201d said Vice President of Programs with the Center for Science in the Public Interest Anupama Joshi.<\/p>\n
According to the city, the updated standards will make \u201chealthy eating\u201d more accessible for \u201cthose with limited resources\u201d by offering more nutritious foods.\n<\/p>\n
The city already banned soda and processed meats, including cold cuts, although the new regulations extend these bans. Fruit juices must already be 100% juice; that program is being continued.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cBy ensuring that any New Yorker accessing city meals receives nutritious food, the standards are addressing structural inequities that make healthy eating inaccessible to many,\u201d said Director for the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute Nevin Cohen.<\/p>\n
Mayor Eric Adams called the new standards a step toward improving the health of many New Yorkers, adding he turned his \u201clife around\u201d from being pre-diabetic with a plant-based diet.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe committed to ensuring all New Yorkers have access to healthy, fresh foods,\u201d Mayor Adams said. \u201cBy looking at the meals we serve, we are making New Yorkers healthier.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York City is changing the menus at public schools, hospitals, and day programs for seniors to include…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":180383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,101894,93391,101895,101896,101897,101898,101899,101900,405,403,101901,5226,5225,101902,5228,5227,101903,101904,101905,101906,101907,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-180382","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-artificial-food-dye-restrictions","10":"tag-chronic-disease-prevention","11":"tag-diet-soda-ban","12":"tag-healthy-eating-access","13":"tag-hospital-nutrition-updates","14":"tag-low-calorie-sweetener-ban","15":"tag-mayor-eric-adams-health-initiatives","16":"tag-municipal-food-programs","17":"tag-new-york","18":"tag-new-york-city","19":"tag-new-york-city-food-policy","20":"tag-newyork","21":"tag-newyorkcity","22":"tag-nutrition-policy-reform","23":"tag-ny","24":"tag-nyc","25":"tag-nyc-department-of-health","26":"tag-plant-based-protein-options","27":"tag-public-health-initiatives-nyc","28":"tag-school-meal-standards","29":"tag-senior-meal-programs","30":"tag-united-states","31":"tag-united-states-of-america","32":"tag-unitedstates","33":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","34":"tag-us","35":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Cans](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/diet-sodas-getty-images.jpg\" "\\"Bye,")
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