S5026-119

What This Bill Does

The Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act of 2026 would require prominent front-of-package warnings on four categories of food and beverages one year after enactment. Sugar-sweetened beverages would warn that added sugar can contribute to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and tooth decay and is not recommended for children. Products containing high-intensity sweeteners would carry a separate child warning. Ultra-processed foods would warn about weight gain and diabetes risk. Foods high in added sugar, saturated fat, sodium, or another FDA-designated nutrient of concern would display a 'High in' octagon. The warnings generally must use at least five percent of the package's principal display area and appear on two sides of multipacks. FDA would extend the rules to online sales.

Covered food could not be marketed or advertised in a way reasonably directed at children. The bill identifies child-appealing themes such as cartoons, celebrities, athletes, social media influencers, games, toys, contests, and depictions of children's daily life. It also creates a separate FTC regime defining a child as under 13, treating media with at least 30 percent child audience as child-directed, prohibiting child-directed junk-food advertising, and requiring every advertisement for covered junk food to display the relevant warning. FTC enforcement would extend to communications common carriers, and the bill would repeal the existing statutory restriction on FTC rulemaking about children's advertising.

NIH would expand nutrition research on ultra-processed foods, harmful ingredients, manufacturer self-affirmed generally-recognized-as-safe ingredients, and hyper-palatable formulation and addiction. NIH would convene a public nutrition meeting within one year and every five years thereafter, exclude speakers financially affiliated with ultra-processed-food manufacturers, and report to Congress. The bill authorizes $60 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 for that work.

CDC would develop a national campaign explaining the new warnings, diet-related health risks, physical activity, good nutrition, and ways to reduce added sugar, saturated fat, and sodium. The bill authorizes $10 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 for the campaign. It separately authorizes $5 million per year over the same period for HHS rulemaking and enforcement of the labeling provisions. Together those provisions authorize up to $375 million over five years, but Congress would still need to appropriate the money before it could be spent.

The bill exempts infant formula from the sugar-sweetened and ultra-processed definitions and excludes medical beverages, nutritionally complete supplements or meal replacements, milk products, 100-percent natural fruit or vegetable juice, and alcohol from the sugar-sweetened-beverage definition. Foods meeting FDA's current 'healthy' definition are excluded from the ultra-processed-food definition.

Who Benefits and How

Children, parents, caregivers, and other consumers gain conspicuous information about added sugar, sweeteners, processing, and nutrients of concern. Children would face fewer advertisements designed to use cartoons, influencers, athletes, toys, games, and similar appeals to promote covered products. Nutrition researchers and public-health organizations could receive expanded research and campaign opportunities if Congress supplies the authorized funding. FTC, FDA, NIH, and CDC gain clearer authority to regulate, study, and explain diet-related risks.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Food and beverage manufacturers must determine whether products fall within broad new definitions, redesign labels and multipacks, and risk enforcement if warnings are missing. Online retailers must display the warnings under FDA rules. Manufacturers, advertising agencies, media companies, influencers, and communications carriers must stop child-directed campaigns for covered products and include warnings in remaining ads, reducing promotional options and creating compliance costs. Ultra-processed-food manufacturers face added research and regulatory scrutiny and cannot financially affiliated speakers represent them at the required NIH meetings. FDA, FTC, NIH, and CDC must write rules, enforce restrictions, conduct research, run meetings and campaigns, and report to Congress. Federal taxpayers would bear costs only to the extent Congress later appropriates the authorized amounts.

Key Provisions

• Requires large front-of-package warnings for sugar-sweetened and ultra-processed products.
• Requires warnings for high-intensity sweeteners and nutrients of concern.
• Directs FDA to apply the labeling rules to online food sales.
• Prohibits child-directed marketing of covered foods one year after enactment.
• Requires the relevant warning in every advertisement for covered junk food.
• Expands FTC enforcement and repeals its children's-advertising rulemaking restriction.
• Directs NIH nutrition research, recurring public meetings, and congressional reports.
• Directs a CDC nutrition and physical-activity campaign.
• Authorizes up to $375 million over five years, subject to future appropriations.