On July 16, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the final rule eliminating 52 Standards of Identity (SOI). These standards were deemed “outdated,” and the rule aims to reduce unnecessary regulations while increasing flexibility for the food industry.

The SOIs establish food standards such as the minimum fruit content in jam. Since their inception in the United States in 1939, over 250 such standards have been developed.

However, with advances in consumer protection through regulations like nutrition labeling and ingredient labeling, the U.S. FDA has been reviewing SOIs based on the following classification:

• Establishing principles to more transparently communicate what the agency will consider when determining whether to revise, eliminate, or establish a food standard;
• Updating individual SOIs to allow for continued innovation in the marketplace, including updating SOIs to reflect modern technologies and processing methods; and
• Updating SOIs to ensure they are supporting the production and innovation of healthier food.

This time, the discontinuation of the following SOIs has been announced, primarily focusing on foods no longer sold in the United States. Details of the affected standards can be confirmed in the “List of Standards Affected by FDA’s First Set of Food Standard Revocation Rulemakings.”

A final rule for canned fruits and vegetables, and its companion processed rule	11 types of foods e.g., Artificially sweetened canned fruits (apricots, cherries and others), canned preserved fruits (figs, seedless grapes), Canned vegetables (field corns, dry peas)
A proposed rule for dairy products	18 types of food e.g., Dairy products (Acidified milk, Low sodium cheddar cheese, Goat’s milk ice cream and others)
A proposed rule for other food products	23 types of foods e.g., Milk bread, Enriched macaroni products, Wheat and soy macaroni products, Frozen orange juice, Olympia oysters, Vanilla vanillin extract and others

The effective date for the (revocation of) final rules of concerned canned food products is September 22, 2025. However, if significant comments are received before that date, the rules will be implemented as companion rules instead. Additionally, public comments on the proposed rules for dairy products and other food products are being accepted until September 15, 2025.

Efforts to streamline outdated standards of identity for foods have recently been undertaken not only by the U.S. FDA but also by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). Through the 2021 “Deletion of Standards of Identity,” Singapore announced a transition to a flexible system aligned with international standards like Codex, resulting in the removal of 59 out of over 200 SOIs.

In Japan, the “Review of Labeling Rules for Individual Food Items (Japanese)” began in 2024. To date, many individual rules concerning food (including the “Standards of Identity” in Appended Table 3 of the Food Labeling Standards) have been considered for abolition or revision, with decisions made accordingly.

For food businesses, the SOI serves as an important reference when considering the labeling of names and ingredient names. As updates (abolitions, revisions, and new additions) may continue to occur for various foods in line with the times, we should remain attentive to these developments.

Share/Like/Follow:

---