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Revisions to the WIC Food Package
Revisions to the WIC Food Packages - Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
On
September 15, 2003, FNS published an Advanced Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking comments on revisions to the food
packages offered through the WIC Program. The ninety-day comment
period ended December 15, 2003. In this ANPRM, the Department
solicited public comments on redesigning the food packages offered through
the WIC Program to determine if the WIC food
packages should be revised to better improve the nutritional intake,
health and development of participants and, if so, what specific changes
should be made to the food packages.
The Department has enlisted independent technical experts via
the Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board to review available
science and comments submitted in response to this ANPRM, and to develop
recommendations on revising the WIC food packages for the Department’s
consideration. The Department
will use comments received through the ANPRM and the IOM recommendations to develop a proposed rule to revise the WIC food
packages. You can view
public comments we received, in PDF format.
Review of the WIC Food Packages by the Institute of Medicine
In September 2003, a contract was awarded to the National Academy of
Sciences' Institute of Medicine (IOM), through the Food and Nutrition
Board, to independently review the WIC food packages in a 22-month study.
Under this contract, IOM has selected a Committee of experts in nutrition,
health, risk assessment and economics to conduct this study in two phases.
In Phase I, the Committee is using current scientific information to
review the nutritional requirements and assess the supplemental nutrition
needs of the population served by WIC. Based on this assessment, IOM will,
in phase II, recommend cost-neutral changes in WIC food items or amounts
to better address the nutritional needs of the WIC eligible population.
On August 19, 2004, the Committee released its Phase I preliminary
report, "Proposed
Criteria for Selecting the WIC Food Packages." The preliminary
report lists priority nutrients and food groups that the Committee will
consider in making its recommendations regarding specific foods. The
report also proposes criteria that the Committee will use to select the
WIC food packages. Using the priority nutrients/food groups and criteria
proposed in this preliminary report, IOM will prepare a final report with
cost-neutral recommendations for specific foods by February 2005. IOM held
two public meetings in Los Angeles, California, and Washington, DC, in the
summer of 2004, to hear oral comments on proposed changes in the WIC food
packages, and is also accepting written comments until November 1, 2004.
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