CSPI’s 2024 victories: What we’ve accomplished this year

For more than 50 years, CSPI has worked to improve the quality and safety of food, remove harmful food additives from shelves and lunchrooms, provide access to nutritious meals, assure informative and accurate food labeling, and advance public health while debunking misleading (and dangerous) food and supplement marketing. We’re working to make diagnostic tests more reliable, rein in the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages (especially to children), and improve oversight of dietary supplements and nutrition misinformation. Because we take no donations from government or industry, we are able to do this work only because of supporters like you. Here’s what we accomplished together in 2024.

CSPI’s food safety successes in 2024 

For the second year in a row, California has taken decisive action to protect consumers—especially kids—from unsafe food additives. In September, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law the California School Food Safety Act. This first-in-the-nation law bans synthetic food dyes in foods served or sold in public schools across the state and follows up on the also-groundbreaking California Food Safety Act signed into law last year that banned four harmful additives—including the dye Red 3—from foods statewide.

Following California’s lead, Washington, Missouri, Illinois, Rhode Island, and South Dakota introduced bills emulating the California Food Safety Act, which bans Red 3, brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, and propylparaben from foods sold in the state. Similar bills are expected soon in other states; find out if your state has introduced legislation with our interactive map of Red 3 bans. 

In July, the FDA revoked approval for the use of brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in foods, effectively banning the additive from the US food supply following a statewide ban from California in 2023 and similar legislation introduced in multiple states. 

CSPI has long advocated for final product safety standards, especially in poultry, which is a common vector for foodborne illnesses like Salmonella. In May, the USDA issued a final rule for regulating the safety of certain breaded chicken products that, for the first time, declares Salmonella an adulterant. In July, USDA proposed a framework to make poultry safer by banning dangerous types of Salmonella contamination, a move CSPI welcomed as it has been an approach we have advocated for more than a decade, most recently in a petition filed in 2021.

Also in July, following a CSPI lawsuit, the FDA agreed to issue a final decision on CSPI’s petition to set limits on opiate contamination in poppy seeds by February 2025. While poppy seeds themselves contain no or negligible levels of opiates, they can be contaminated with opiates without adequate processing. Not all manufacturers properly process their seeds, however, and some sellers even market poppy seeds using terms such as “unwashed” to convey to consumers that they have high levels of opiates.

In May, the FDA issued final guidance clarifying that the FDA will, in consultation with the USDA, lead the regulatory review of intentionally genomically altered (IGA) animals. For the past several years, it has been unclear which of the two agencies would regulate genetically engineered animals. CSPI led the charge for the FDA to be the regulating agency of IGAs. CSPI will continue to educate policymakers and the public about the benefits and risks associated with genetically engineered crops and animals. We will also continue to advocate for strong federal regulation of genetically engineered food products and press the biotechnology industry and farmers to use genetically engineered crops and animals in a sustainable manner.

Nutrition and food system improvements in 2024

CSPI committed to investing $1.5 million in community partnerships as part of the White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities. This year, CSPI disbursed more than $2 million to 26 state and local community-based organizations, of which half are led by people from communities most impacted by food system inequities.

In August, the FDA proposed new 3-year, voluntary sodium reduction targets for 163 categories of foods, which, if achieved by the food manufacturing and restaurant industries, would bring Americans’ sodium consumption to safer levels. CSPI has been pushing the FDA to reduce sodium in the food supply for nearly fifty years through a series of petitions and lawsuits; this latest round of targets is partly in response to CSPI’s most recent citizen petition seeking such limits in 2023.

In September, Secretary Becerra announced that the federal Food Service Guidelines on values-based purchasing would be adopted in all HHS facilities, following advocacy from CSPI and 50 aligned organizations.

In September, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued the final rule (Chapter 39 of the Health Code) for the Sweet Truth Act, requiring chain restaurants in NYC (15 or more locations nationwide) to post added sugars warnings on menu items that are high in added sugars. CSPI released a statement and social media, and our bill sponsor was featured in a Gothamist article. The rule will go into effect on October 4, 2025.

In June, the Good Food New York (NY) Bill passed the Assembly and Senate (S.6955A /A.7264), allowing municipalities to prioritize healthy food from vendors who promote community health, worker well-being, local economies, racial equity, animal welfare, sustainability, and transparency, rather than the lowest cost.  The bill passage was supported by the leadership of the CSPI subgrantee, Community Food Advocates (CFA), and the New York State Good Food Purchasing session to mobilize allies and grassroots supporters to pressure legislators to hold a vote on the bill, including by holding a press conference in Albany.  The bill awaits Governor Hochul’s signature. 

2024 healthy retail wins 

In January, following CSPI’s “Feed Families Better, Dollar General” campaign, Dollar General announced more than 5,000 stores would stock fresh produce. In September, CSPI participated in a round table hosted by Dollar General to discuss further opportunities for improving healthy food access at dollar stores, like increasing the number of WIC-authorized dollar stores.

In February, the FTC sued to block the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger to protect consumers from a more consolidated food retail market with higher food prices and fewer grocery stores. CSPI was part of the Stop the Merger Coalition, which advocated against the merger.

In August, the first evaluation of the Berkeley healthy checkout policy was published, showing that 83 percent of stores were complying just one year after the policy was implemented, resulting in a large reduction in the presence of sugar-sweetened beverages and an increase in the presence of unsweetened beverages at store checkouts.

Improvements in food and beverage labeling 

We have also made tremendous progress in improving nutrition through labeling transparency. In September, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), reacting to a CSPI lawsuit, sent three proposed labeling rules—on alcohol content and nutrition, on allergens, and on ingredient labeling—to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget for review.

In November, the FDA submitted a rule to the White House that will require mandatory Front of Package Nutrition Labeling to warn consumers when a product is high in added sugars, saturated fat, or sodium.

CSPI and healthy kids 

In January, Charles County, Maryland, became the third county in the country to pass legislation that comprehensively improves restaurant kids’ meals by ensuring that healthier beverages are the default and that at least one kids’ meal will meet expert nutrition standards. 

The Predatory Marketing Prevention Act, which addresses marketing to children, passed the New York State Senate for the second consecutive year, making it harder for food companies to target ads for unhealthy foods directly to children.

In April, a final rule issued by the USDA means those meals will align more closely with the science-based recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, including targets for added sugars targets for the first time as well as sodium targets, although these are less ambitious than we had advocated.

WIC provides nutritious foods, nutrition education, and health care referrals to more than 6 million women, infants, and children who are at nutritional risk. The program’s latest revisions, finalized in April, will strengthen WIC food packages to better align with the science-based recommendations of the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. CSPI will work to protect the integrity of the WIC program final rule during the FY25 appropriations process by monitoring and opposing policy riders.

CSPI’s 2023 kids' meals corporate campaign, which aimed to get restaurant chains to drop sugary drinks from kids' menus, is showing positive results. We targeted four regional chains with an outsized impact in their communities: Jersey Mike's, Zaxby's, Culver's, and Whataburger. A recent review of menus at these chains demonstrated positive changes, such as healthier default kids' beverages when ordering online across all four chains, and improved promotion of healthier items, such as new kids' meals that bundle milk and lower calorie sides at Whataburger. 

Improving food in prisons 

In February, after CSPI’s subgrantee the Pennsylvania Prison Society shared preliminary findings and recommendations from its investigation into state prison food with Department of Corrections (DOC) leadership, the DOC made significant statewide menu changes to address hunger and diet quality. In May, the Prison Society published a report summarizing its findings and recommendations, including how the DOC can continue to improve upon its recent steps. 

The Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2024, which passed in March, included a provision directing the DC Department of Corrections to establish nutrition standards based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. To our knowledge, this is the first legislation of its kind for local correctional facilities, setting a precedent for other jurisdictions. These provisions originated in the FRESH START Act, which was spearheaded by CSPI’s subgrantee and coalition partners. 

In October, the Prince George’s County Council passed a Resolution Concerning the Healthy Food in Prince George’s County Correctional Facilities Task Force. This first-of-its-kind resolution comes from over two years of advocacy by CSPI subgrantee, PG Changemakers, and their coalition partners. It creates a task force of key stakeholders, including representatives from the Department of Corrections, current residents, and nutrition and policy experts, who will recommend standards to ensure people in custody have access to safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate foods that align with the Good Food Purchasing Program guidelines. It also directs the Department of Corrections to comply with the task force’s recommendations within one year. 

Our work toward safer lab-developed tests, supplements, and medicine

In January, Public Citizen and CSPI, represented by Public Citizen’s Litigation Group, filed an amicus brief at the Supreme Court supporting the FDA’s decision to increase access to the approved drug mifepristone, a medication used to terminate early pregnancies. In the brief, CSPI and Public Citizen argue that, because of the FDA’s rigorous drug approval process, there should be a high bar for overruling its determination that a drug is safe and effective and that the plaintiffs did not come close to meeting that burden.

This year, CSPI successfully settled a lawsuit against EpicGenetics regarding their sale and marketing of diagnostic tests that had been marketed with overblown accuracy claims. As a result, EpicGenetics will cease marketing and selling the tests; limit the claims they can make concerning a remaining test that they market and sell for five years; and limit the claims that they could make about a dietary supplement that they offer for sale. 

In May, the FDA finalized its rule asserting jurisdiction over laboratory-developed tests (LDTs); industry has already challenged it in court and appears to be planning legislation. CSPI filed an amicus brief in favor of the FDA’s final rule in November. 

CSPI wrote and helped introduce a bill in New York State that would require companies using GRAS ingredients in the state to list the additive and certain safety information on a public-facing website. If passed, this will help close the GRAS loophole.

In April, New York State banned the sale of weight loss and body-building supplements to minors through legislation drafted by CSPI. “The law that we crafted reflects the lack of regulation from the FDA and the lack of regulation in the industry,” CSPI Regulatory Counsel Jensen Jose told the Associated Press.

Thank you for your support 

This list of accomplishments is the result of support from CSPI members! Because CSPI takes no corporate donations, and Nutrition Action accepts no advertising, we depend on readers and members like you. 

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