Efforts from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to streamline food standards of identity are starting to bear fruit.
This week, the federal agency revoked or proposed to revoke 52 ‘obsolete and unnecessary’ standards covering dairy, baked goods, fish products, canned fruit and veg, and more.
The move forms part of a federal review into more than 250 food standards of identity designed to increase clarity and transparency for consumers and cut red tape for food manufacturers. The review is part of the US health department’s strategy to boost efficiency and reduce costs.
Standards of identity (SOIs) describe in detail what a food product must contain and what is optional – for example the amount of proportion of ingredients or components – as well as the required method of production or formulation.
SOIs exist to ensure food production processes align with what consumers expect – but some of these standards have become unnecessary over the years, either due to a shrinking market or evolving health regulations.
What standards are being revoked?
Direct final rule: Standards for 11 canned fruit and vegetable products
Effective Sept. 22, 2025, standards for 11 types of canned fruit and vegetable products are being phased out because these foods are no longer sold in US retail.
The rule includes 7 standards for artificially-sweetened canned fruit and 4 for canned vegetables made with saccharin and/or sodium saccharin – but does not apply to any other reduced-sugar canned fruit or veg products.
“Our analysis of the current market indicates that there are no products currently marketed under the standards of identity listed above,” said the FDA in the revocation notice. “Therefore, we conclude that the direct final rule to revoke the standards would result in zero benefits and zero costs to consumers and industry.
These are the SOIs proposed to go under the final rule:
- Artificially sweetened canned apricots
- Artificially sweetened canned cherries
- Artificially sweetened canned figs
- Canned preserved figs
- Artificially sweetened canned fruit cocktail
- Canned seedless grapes
- Artificially sweetened canned peaches
- Artificially sweetened canned pears
- Artificially sweetened canned pineapple
- Canned field corn
- Canned dry peas
A public comment period is now open and runs to August 18, 2025.
Proposed rule: Standards for 18 types of dairy
The FDA proposes to revoke standards for 18 dairy products, including low-sodium cheddar and colby cheese, acidified milk and sour cream, and rare cheeses such as Nuworld and Sap sago.
Frozen desserts are also being impacted, with standards for goat’s milk ice cream and mellorine set to go due to limited to no market presence.
FDA’s proposal includes the following SOIs:
Low sodium cheeses:
- Low sodium cheddar cheese
- Low sodium colby cheese
(Reason: Redundant with general nutrient content claim regulations)
Rare or obsolete cheeses:
- Caciocavallo siciliano
- Gammelost
- Nuworld
- Samsoe
- Sap sago
- High-moisture jack cheese
- Cook cheese (koch kaese)
(Reason: Little to no market presence)
Cheese products with added ingredients:
- Cold-pack cheese food with fruits, vegetables, or meats
- Cream cheese with other foods
- Pasteurized blended/process cheese with fruits, vegetables, or meats
(Reason: Redundant; can be marketed as non-standardized foods)
Milk-based products:
- Acidified milk
- Acidified sour cream
(Reason: Little to no market presence)
Frozen desserts:
- Goat’s milk ice cream
- Mellorine
(Reason: Little to no market presence)
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) has welcomed the move.
An IDFA spokesperson told us: “IDFA supports FDA’s proposal to revoke theses specific dairy standards of identity. Some of the proposed revocations represent niche dairy products with little to no presence in the US, while others represent a streamlining of the overall standards of identity, allowing more consistent interpretation and improved flexibility for producers.
“IDFA encourages FDA to continue to review dairy standards of identity to determine opportunities for streamlining standards to support innovation and flexibility, while ensuring fair competition, product consistency, and consumer expectations are met.”
The public comment period runs to September 15, 2025 - visit this page to submit yours or read the entire proposal.
Proposed rule: 23 standards for bakery products, juices, fish, and more
The FDA is also looking to ditch standards for 1 bakery product; 8 macaroni and noodle products; 9 canned fruit juice products; 2 types of fish products; and 3 types of flavoring.
The SOI for milk bread, buns and rolls is set to be phased out due to no market presence, according to the FDA.
Canned fruit juice standards are targeted for revocation because products such as frozen orange juice, reduced acid orange juice, canned and concentrated orange juices, and orange juice with preservatives are no longer widely sold in the US.
And some standards, e.g. for colored lemonade, are considered redundant because they simply add minor variations (e.g., color or flavor) to already standardized products.
Standards covering macaroni and noodle products such as milk macaroni and wheat and soy noodles are being targeted for similar reasons – the FDA’s research has found little to no evidence that these products are still sold in US grocery stores.
Fish and shellfish standards on the line cover Olympia oysters and frozen, raw lightly breaded shrimp; with the FDA concluding that the SOIs are redundant because the products they cover can be effectively regulated under broader food standards.
Flavorings such as vanilla-vanillin extracts are also proposed to be phased out because they are ‘rarely, if ever, marketed in the US’.
The full list of 23 SOIs across bakery, fish and more that are proposed to be revoked can be found here. The public comment period for this runs to September 15, 2025.
