The Food and Drug Administration publishes the changes to our nutrition laws on their website, and it can be a dull read sometimes. Each year, the FDA makes changes to the National Register, which makes them part of the Law across the Land. I don’t know many people that keep up to date with the FDA regulations, so you’d be forgiven for missing the FDA alterations amongst other things like Twitter changing their name, or the Paris Olympics memes, or any other Very Important News®. Most years, the FDA makes a dozen or so updates to the food regulations, but so far in 2024, there have only been 3. We are 1) reducing sodium use, 2) updating “health” claims on yogurt, but the most riveting one is 3) revoking the standards for frozen cherry pie. What?!?
In 1967, the FDA made a proposal to regulate the Standards of Identity for frozen cherry pies, meaning that the public was confused about what was and was not a frozen cherry pie. More specifically, the public was not sure whether the sweetener in the cherry goop was artificial or not. A solid four years later, the proposal was finalized in 1971 and ever since then, we’ve had nothing but perfect frozen cherry pies. In 2020, the American Bakers Association (who else?!) petitioned to revoke the Standards of Identity around frozen cherry pies, asserting that “that non-standardized fruit pies have been sold throughout the country for many years without any evidence of public confusion”. So in March of 2024, the FDA relaxed the rules on frozen cherry pies, saying “the standards are no longer necessary to ensure that these products meet consumer expectations, and revoking the standards will provide greater flexibility and the opportunity for product innovation”. Keep an eye out for some innovative frozen cherry pies coming to a retailer near year!
As we head into fall, we’re entering peak pie season. The usual pie suspects make this season go ‘round. The classic apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie and chocolate pie are never far from reach. Or you can go the savory route and make sausage pies, delicata squash pies, turkey pies from Thanksgiving leftovers, cheddar pies, chicken pot pies. Quiche is even a pie! And don’t forget custard pies, meringue pies, or sweet potato pies. You name it, you can make a pie out of it! A pie is like the soup of the oven: throw all your extra ingredients in a pie crust, cover it with something, and bake it off! No one will be sure exactly what is in it, but it will taste good!
If pies are not your thing or you need to be pulled away from the pies, Box of Good will begin offering nutritional classes In October. The class will be once a week for 5 weeks, and it’s a combination of 1 part nutritional education, 1 part sugar detox, and 1 part support group. Laura Conley is a Functional Nutritionist and will be leading the class through education around digestion, healthy fats, the impact of sugar and refined carbs, and how to fight back with whole foods, preferably local and organic when available. To register, look for more info on our website and the space will be limited. We will offer both daytime or evening classes to fit flexible schedules.
A quick way to summarize the class is a great quote from author Michael Pollan: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”