Washington — Two dairy groups and the Sugar Association expressed disappointment when the US Department of Agriculture on April 9 issued its final rule on changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

WIC state agencies will have two years to implement the changes.

Cuts to dairy in WIC food packages disappointed both the International Dairy Foods Association and the National Milk Producers Federation.

“NMPF is disturbed by the decision to reduce access to the essential nutrients dairy adds to the diet,” said Gregg Doud, president and chief executive officer of the NMPF, Arlington, Va. “Nutrition science demonstrates that dairy products like milk, yogurt and cheese are especially important for women, infants and children. Meanwhile, nearly 90% of Americans don’t meet the number of dairy servings recommended by the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This rule works against the WIC Program’s goal of ensuring all Americans have consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe and affordable foods.”

The changes in WIC allotments for dairy include monthly reductions to 12 quarts from 16 quarts for children 12 months through 23 months, 14 quarts from 16 quarts for children of the ages 2 to 4, 16 quarters from 22 quarts for pregnant women and 16 quarts from 22 quarts for partially and fully breastfeeding.  

“This final rule cuts the amount of milk that can be purchased by up to 3 gallons per family per month at a time of high food prices, stubborn inflation and rising hunger rates, and harms nutrition security by disregarding the Dietary Guidelines’ findings that dairy items in the WIC food package are under-consumed,” said Michael Dykes, DVM, president and CEO of the IDFA, Washington. “IDFA has polled WIC participants, and 35% say they will need to use non-WIC funds to cover purchases of milk and dairy due to these cuts. Another 33% say the cuts will make their shopping for milk and dairy products harder.”

Other WIC changes in the dairy category include flexibility on package sizes and non-dairy substitution options such as plant-based yogurt and cheese and requiring lactose-free milk to be available.

“We do, however, recognize and appreciate how the final rule authorizes purchases of lactose-free milk and offers new flexibilities for yogurt and cheese that make it easier for WIC participants to access nutritious dairy foods that meet their family’s dietary needs,” Dykes said. “For example, IDFA has worked for many years to create flexibility that allows WIC participants to swap a portion of their milk allotment for reasonably sized portions of yogurt (such as 4-oz, 5.3-oz and 6-oz cups) totaling up to 32 ounces, rather than one 32-oz tub.”

The Sugar Association, Washington, cautioned that added sugars limited on individual products could reduce access to nutrient-dense foods associated with better overall diet quality.

“The Sugar Association supports the DGA (Dietary Guidelines for Americans) recommendation to limit added sugars to 10% of total calories in a total dietary pattern,” said Courtney Gaine, PhD, president of the Sugar Association. “However, added sugars limits on individual foods are not consistent with that approach and contradict scientific evidence showing that grains and flavored dairy sweetened with sugar are not associated with adiposity and, in fact, are associated with improved nutrient adequacy.”

A focus on added sugars consumption alone has failed to address obesity in the United States, according to the association, which pointed out that added sugar consumption has decreased by 18% since 1999 while obesity increased by 44% in children and 37% in adults over the same time.

The WIC final rule in fruits and vegetables increased the cash-value benefit (CVB) base monthly amount for children, pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum participants. The amount for children rose to $24 from $9. The amount for pregnant and postpartum women rose to $43 from $11. The amount for breastfeeding women rose to $47 from $11.

“We applaud USDA’s commitment to permanently increasing the monthly cash-value voucher/benefit (CVV/B) amounts for fruit and vegetable purchases in the WIC program to reflect 50% of the Dietary Guidelines’ recommended fruit and vegetable intake for mothers and children,” said FMI – the Food Industry Association, Arlington. “We also appreciate USDA’s approval of new substitution patterns and package size flexibility, which will improve participant access to and utilization of WIC foods. We expect both rule changes will result in measurable benefits for mothers and young children.”

In grain-based foods, whole grain options were expanded to include foods like quinoa, blue cornmeal and teff.

The WIC food packages supplement foods and beverages already consumed by participants and fill in nutritional gaps to support healthy growth and development, according to the USDA. The changes initially were proposed in November 2022 to align the food packages with the latest nutrition science.