FDA Rule Change Means More Fruits, Vegetables Can Claim Heart Health Benefits

The FDA is amending a regulation allowing more fruits and vegetables to carry a health claim that they reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

The agency says some produce had been ineligible to claim a relationship between saturated fats and cholesterol AND the risk of coronary heart disease because they didn’t meet the minimum requirements. This rule, responding to a petition from the American Heart Association, is effective immediately.

President Obama has signed into law a water projects authorization bill and issued a statement cautioning agency managers to heed endangered species requirements before increasing irrigation water supplies in California's drought-stricken Central Valley.

Critics of the drought relief, led by retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., say the provisions would divert more water to California farmers than should be permitted by biological opinions that enforce the endangered species protections and protect Pacific salmon fisheries.