New Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, was released by USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tuesday. The guidelines now include recommended dietary patterns for infants and toddlers.
The agencies said the new guidelines were "informed by the scientific report developed by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee" along with public input and that from other government agencies. The recommendations "look similar" to prior guidelines, the agencies noted, and despite a general recommendation that adults limit added sugar and alcoholic beverage intake, the guidelines sidestepped making any specifics on those two items.
The agencies said evidence presented to the dietary review committee lacked "a preponderance of evidence" that would support specific numbers on alcohol or added sugar, "as required by law."
As for red meat and processed foods, the guidelines also don't delve significantly into those areas. They do recommend replacing processed or high-fat meats with seafood or beans, peas and lentils to meet protein recommendations. The majority of meat and poultry a person consumes should be fresh, frozen or canned, and in lean forms, according to the guidelines. They suggest items like chicken breast or ground turkey, versus processed meats like ham or other deli meat.
The U.S. Cattlemen's Association tweeted that the guidelines gave scant mention of beef. "In the 164-page 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 'Beef' is mentioned only five times; 'Meat' is mentioned 87 times; 'Protein' can be found 166 times."
But the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) declared the new guidelines recognize the role that lean beef can play in a healthy diet. "Beef is one of Americans' favorite foods, and science consistently shows lean beef can be the cornerstone in a variety of healthy diets," said NCBA President Marty Smith. The group pointed out beef is a source of the nutrient-rich foods recommended in the guidelines.
The mixed reactions to the guidelines are not surprising as some in the food industry are complaining they do not go far enough in recommending dietary changes, and that the agencies set the scientific agenda for the guidelines, not the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.