JONEL ALECCIA

AP Health Writer

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr speaks as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz listens during a Make Indiana Healthy Again initiative event in Indianapolis, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Arkansas and Indiana ask USDA to let them ban soda and candy from SNAP

Officials in Arkansas and Indiana are moving to ban soft drinks and candy from the program that helps low-income people pay for groceries.

Second-grade students select their meals during lunch break in the cafeteria at an elementary school in Scottsdale, Ariz., Dec. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Mariani, File)

There’s a new push to put whole milk back in school meals. Here’s what you should know

Whole and 2% milk has been banned from school meals since 2012. There is a new push by federal lawmakers and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to put it back.

This undated photo released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shows a box of a Lean Cuisine meal. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration via AP)

Lean Cuisine and Stouffer’s meals recalled for ‘wood-like material’ linked to choking

Nestle USA has recalled certain batches of its Lean Cuisine and Stouffer’s frozen meals. The products could be contaminated with “wood-like material.”

This undated image released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shows Savage Pet of El Cajon, Calif.'s Savage Cat Food Large Chicken Boxes and Small Chicken Boxes. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration via AP)

Another raw pet food recall is tied to illness and death in cats

A pet food company has recalled one lot of its raw chicken pet food after it was linked to bird flu infections detected in two cats and suspected in a third in New York City. Savage Pet, of El Cajon, California, issued this week’s recall.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrives before Ireland's Prime Minister Micheál Martin and President Donald Trump speak during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

RFK Jr.’s first month as health secretary: Touting French fries and casting doubts on vaccines

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. traveled to a Steak ‘n Shake in Florida this weekend for an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity to endorse the fast-food franchise’s new fries.

A woman looks at products in the aisle of a store as her daughter naps in the shopping cart in Waco, Texas, on Dec. 14, 2010. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

RFK Jr. is targeting ultraprocessed foods. What are they, and are they bad for you?

The Trump Administration’s quest to “Make America Healthy Again” is targeting ultraprocessed foods. Think sugary cereals, frozen pizzas, chips, soda and ice cream tied to high rates of obesity and other disease.

College student and research subject Sam Srisatta eats a lunch of chicken nuggets and chips in his room during a study on the health effects of ultraprocessed foods at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Inside the government study trying to understand the health effects of ultraprocessed foods

A National Institutes of Health study aims to find out whether ultraprocessed foods lead people to eat more. And, if so, why? Teasing out the answers could shed light on the controversial fare that makes up more than 70% of the U.S. food supply.

Canola oil is poured into a pan in Concord, N.H., on March 27, 2007. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe, File)

Kennedy and influencers bash seed oils, baffling nutrition scientists

Seed oils have been the focus of fiery critics from internet influencers to high-profile politicians like HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

A silhouetted cat sits on a fence of a condominium complex at dusk, June 18, 2017, in La Habra, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, file)

Dairy workers’ cats died from bird flu, but it’s not clear how they got infected

Two cats that belonged to Michigan dairy workers exposed to bird flu died after being infected with the virus last year. But it’s not clear how the animals got sick or whether they spread the virus to people. A new study published by the U.S.

Jaqueline Benitez, who depends on California's SNAP benefits to help pay for food, shops for groceries at a supermarket in Bellflower, Calif., on Feb. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File)

Trump officials want to ban junk food from SNAP. Past efforts show it’s not easy to do

A push to ban sugary drinks, candy and more from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program may soon get a boost from new Trump Administration officials. Robert F.

An assortment of Kellogg's Froot Loops, Corn Pops, Apple Jacks, and Honey Smacks in Mt. Lebanon, Pa., June 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Red dye No. 3 has been banned, but what about other artificial food dyes?

Health officials banned the artificial food color known as Red 3 from the U.S. food supply in January, citing a federal statute and cancer risks in lab rats.

Cats in Oregon euthanized after eating raw pet food tainted with bird flu

At least two cats in Oregon have been euthanized after eating raw pet food contaminated with bird flu. Officials in Oregon and Washington state warned Friday that bird flu virus was detected in samples of raw pet food made by Wild Coast.

This colorized electron microscope image released by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on March 26, 2024, shows avian influenza A H5N1 virus particles (yellow), grown in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells (blue). (CDC/NIAID via AP, File)

New strain of bird flu is detected in a Nevada dairy worker, CDC says

Federal health officials say a dairy worker in Nevada has been infected with a new type of bird flu that’s different from the version that has been spreading in U.S. herds since last year.

Dairy cows stand in a field outside of a milking barn at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Animal Disease Center research facility in Ames, Iowa, on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall,File)

Second type of bird flu detected in US dairy cows

Dairy cattle in Nevada have been infected with a new type of bird flu that’s different from the version that has spread in herds since last year. U.S. Agriculture Department officials announced the finding Wednesday.

President Donald Trump talks about drug prices during a visit to the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, Oct. 25, 2018. HHS Secretary Alex Azar listens at right. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, file)

Trump administration freezes many health agency reports and online posts

The Trump administration has put a freeze on many federal health agency communications with the public through at least the end of the month. In a memo Tuesday, the acting Secretary of the U.S.

FILE- Bottles freshly filled with beer move on a conveyor belt at Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, Jan. 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger, File)

Proposed rules would require nutrition info, allergen warnings on alcohol labels

Labels on wine, distilled spirits and malt beverages in the U.S. would be required to list alcohol content and nutritional information per serving, plus notification of potential allergens, under two new rules proposed Thursday by the Treasury Department.

Pez candy, which contains red dye no. 3, is on display at a store in Lafayette, Calif., March 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File)

FDA bans red dye No. 3 from foods

U.S. regulators are banning the dye called Red 3 from the food supply. The move comes nearly 35 years after the dye was barred from cosmetics such as lipsticks because of potential cancer risk.

A man uses measuring tape on his waist in California on Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/JoNel Aleccia)

Obesity won’t be solely defined by BMI under new plan for diagnosis by global experts

New recommendations on how to define obesity would reduce the emphasis on body mass index and also take into account health problems from extra weight and other measurements.

USDA documented insects and slime at Boar’s Head plants, records show

U.S. food inspectors documented unsanitary conditions at several Boar’s Head deli meat plants, not just the Jarratt, Virginia, factory that was shut down last year.

This photo provided by Joseph Journell of San Bernardino, Calif. shows two of his cats, Alexander, background, and Tuxsie, right, who died from bird flu after they drank raw cow's milk. Cleo, center, did not drink the milk and remained healthy. (Joseph Journell via AP)

California man says two of his cats died after drinking raw milk recalled for bird flu

A California man says his two cats died and a third was hospitalized after he fed them raw milk recalled for bird flu risk. Joseph Journell, of San Bernardino, says his tabby cat, Alexander, and a tuxedo cat, Tuxsie, died in November.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) building is shown in Silver Spring, Md., Dec. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

FDA limits toxic lead in some baby foods

The Food and Drug Administration has set maximum levels for lead in baby foods like jarred fruits and vegetables, yogurts and dry cereal.

Canadian certified organic farm-raised King Salmon filets are placed on a tray in a store in Fairfax, Va., April 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FDA updates the definition of ‘healthy’ foods

Packaged foods in the U.S. must follow new rules in order to call themselves “healthy.” That’s according to changes finalized by the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday. It’s an update of the agency’s definition originally devised 30 years ago.

FILE -This colorized electron microscope image released by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on March 26, 2024, shows avian influenza A H5N1 virus particles (yellow), grown in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells (blue). (CDC/NIAID via AP, File)

California declared an emergency over bird flu. How serious is the situation?

California officials have declared a state of emergency over the spread of bird flu, which is tearing through dairy cows in that state and causing sporadic illnesses in people in the U.S.

FILE -This colorized electron microscope image released by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on March 26, 2024, shows avian influenza A H5N1 virus particles (yellow), grown in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells (blue). (CDC/NIAID via AP, File)

Bird flu: Louisiana patient is first severe case and California declares emergency

FILE - In this Nov. 2, 2013 file photo, various cuts of beef and pork are displayed for sale in the meat department at a discount market in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

More beans and less red meat: Nutrition experts weigh in on US dietary guidelines

Americans should eat more beans, peas and lentils and cut back on red and processed meats and starchy vegetables.

In this image provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a researcher performs a rapid antigen test on milk from a dairy cow inoculated against bird flu in a containment building at the National Animal Disease Center research facility in Ames, Iowa, on Monday, July 29, 2024. (USDA Agricultural Research Service via AP, File)

USDA orders nationwide testing of milk for bird flu to halt the virus

The U.S. government has ordered testing of the nation’s milk supply for bird flu to better monitor the spread of the virus in dairy cows.

FILE - Bottles of raw milk are displayed for sale at a store in Temecula, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/JoNel Aleccia, file)

Raw milk recall in California expands after tests detect more bird flu virus

A California farm has expanded a recall of raw milk sold in stores and has halted production. State health and agriculture officials say they found bird flu virus in additional samples of milk from Raw Farm of Fresno.

FILE - A sign at a McDonald's restaurant is displayed on April 29, 2024, in Albany, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

US closes investigation into E. coli outbreak linked to onions in McDonald’s Quarter Pounders

The federal government has closed its investigation into an E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers after determining there is no longer a safety risk.

FILE - Bottles of raw milk are displayed for sale at a store in Temecula, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/JoNel Aleccia, file)

Bird flu virus was found in raw milk. What to know about the risks

The detection of bird flu virus this week in a batch of unpasteurized milk sold in California underscores what health experts say are the known and potential risks of the products.

FILE - Some of the food from a Thanksgiving dinner from Martha & Marley Spoon in New York, Oct. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Bree Fowler, File)

Do not wash your turkey and other Thanksgiving tips to keep your food safe

Food safety experts say safely serving a holiday feast takes planning and know-how. Outbreaks of some types of food poisoning tend to rise in November and December.