FDA proposes first major update to infant formula nutrient rules in nearly 30 years

Mixed · 2The Food and Drug Administration announced on Thursday 29 October 2026 that it is proposing a new rule updating the nutrient requirements for infant formula. 1 2 Left · 1The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, said it would be the first major update to infant formula standards in nearly 30 years. 1 Left · 1The proposal would update requirements for vitamin A, vitamin D, iodine and manganese and reaffirm existing requirements for chloride, potassium, selenium and sodium. It would change the units of measure for two nutrients. 1

Right · 1Just the News adds that the proposal sets a ceiling on manganese for the first time, permits a new source of vitamin A and revises labeling rules. 2 Left · 1The FDA is also seeking public input on possible requirements for ingredients not currently required but sometimes added by manufacturers: arachidonic acid (ARA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and L-carnitine. 1 Mixed · 2This is the first phase of a three-part plan covering the 30 nutrients a formula must contain. Later phases will examine the remaining nutrients, possible new requirements and carbohydrate sources, and the FDA will issue a single final rule after public comment and outside peer review. 2 1

Right · 1Just the News reports the FDA projects costs to manufacturers of $8.4 million to $31.7 million a year, with a central estimate of $17.6 million. It says the White House received the rule for review on 14 October, classified it as economically significant, and cleared it on Wednesday. 2 Mixed · 2The FDA also released new chemical contaminant testing data, which it said found mostly low or non-detectable levels. Just the News adds that the FDA issued draft guidance the same day capping cadmium in processed foods for children under two. 1 2 Left · 1HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said: "Parents deserve confidence in every bottle they feed their baby," and that manufacturers would be held to rigorous scientific standards. 1

Right · 1The review is part of Operation Stork Speed, launched by HHS and the FDA; Kennedy has said the aim is to make American formula "the gold standard for the world". The FDA first sought public input in May 2025, noting its last comprehensive look at formula nutrients was in 1998. 2 Mixed · 2Earlier, then-FDA commissioner Marty Makary suggested seed oils in formula are pro-inflammatory; doctors told ABC News they are not, and FactCheck.org disputed Makary's suggestions that seed oils and added sugars in formula are unhealthy. 1 2 Right · 1Just the News gives background: federal formula rules date to the Infant Formula Act of 1980, passed after a low-sodium-chloride formula harmed infants, and recent years saw the 2022 Abbott shortage and a late-2025 ByHeart recall during an infant botulism outbreak. 2