Your chance to speak up about the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Public comments are now being accepted on the Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 (Advisory Report). Individuals and organizations are encouraged to view the Advisory Report now posted along with public comments at www.dietaryguidelines.gov. Written comments will be accepted from June 15, 2010 to July 15, 2010. Oral testimony may be provided at a public meeting to be held in Washington, DC, on July 8, 2010.

“We appreciate the hard work and guidance of the Committee and the expertise of its members. Their commitment to this endeavor assures the public that their report reflects the most current, comprehensive, evidence-based nutritional science available. The Advisory Report will provide USDA and HHS with a strong foundation for preparing the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which will be released at the end of this year. We look forward to receiving comments from the public that will help USDA and HHS translate these recommendations into meaningful policies and messages for the American people,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a joint statement.

Following the public comment period on the Advisory Report, USDA and HHS will consider these and other comments as they translate the Advisory Report of the Committee into the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Secretary Vilsack and Secretary Sebelius will release the 2010 Dietary Guidelines policy document jointly at the end of 2010.

First published in 1980, the Dietary Guidelines are mandated by Congress to be reviewed, updated and released by USDA and HHS every five years. The Dietary Guidelines contain the latest, science-based nutritional and dietary guidance for the general public. They are the foundation for federal nutrition education and promotion programs, as well as the basis for the federal food assistance programs.

The availability of the Advisory Report is announced in the June 15, 2010 edition of the Federal Register. An electronic copy of the Advisory Report is available at www.dietaryguidelines.gov or may be viewed in hard copy at the Reference Desk of the USDA National Agricultural Library.

Written comments can be submitted at www.dietaryguidelines.gov or mailed to Carole Davis, Co-Executive Secretary, Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Room 1034, Alexandria, VA 22302.

To provide oral testimony at the July 8 public meeting, you must register by going to www.dietaryguidelines.gov or by calling Crystal Tyler at (202) 314-4701 prior to 5 p.m. EDT on June 30. The meeting will be held in the Jefferson Auditorium in the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue, S.W., on July 8 beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending no later than 5:00 p.m.