By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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WEDNESDAY, July 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) \u2014 A government-backed meal delivery service for people on Medicaid and Medicare is getting national attention \u2014 but not all of it is positive.<\/p>\n
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr<\/a>. recently praised Mom\u2019s Meals,<\/a> a company that sends prepackaged meals to people who are older or living with illnesses like cancer<\/a> or diabetes<\/a>, the Associated Press<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is really one of the solutions for making our country healthy again,\u201d Kennedy said in a video<\/a> posted on X.<\/p>\n He toured the company\u2019s Oklahoma facility last week and thanked them for providing meals \u201cwithout additives.\u201d<\/p>\n But experts say that\u2019s not entirely true.<\/p>\n An Associated Press<\/em> investigation found that many of Mom\u2019s Meals’ offerings are highly processed and contain ingredients that wouldn\u2019t be found in a home kitchen.<\/p>\n Marion Nestle<\/a>, a nutrition expert at New York University, reviewed the menu, including nutrition labels and ingredients.<\/p>\n Some meals \u2014 like chicken bacon ranch pasta or French toast sticks with ham \u2014 were high in salt, sugar or saturated fat, Nestle said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is perfectly possible to make meals like this with real foods and no ultra-processing additives but every one of the meals I looked at is loaded with such additives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s so sad is that they don\u2019t have to be this way,” Nestle added. “Other companies are able to produce much better products, but of course they cost more.\u201d<\/p>\n She noted that Mom\u2019s Meals do not have the petroleum dyes that Kennedy is pushing companies to remove from their products.<\/p>\n Experts say most food is processed in some way. But ultraprocessed foods are made in factories and contain chemical additives, preservatives or dyes that wouldn’t be used at home. These foods have been linked to health risks like obesity, heart disease and diabetes.<\/p>\n Teresa Roof<\/a>, a spokesperson for Mom\u2019s Meals, told the AP<\/em> that the company\u2019s products “do not include ingredients that are commonly found in ultra-processed foods” such as synthetic food dyes or high fructose corn syrup.<\/p>\n The meals are delivered to patients through certain Medicaid and Medicare programs.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear how much taxpayer money goes to these programs. A STAT News<\/em> report<\/a> last year found that some states spend millions on similar meal programs, even when the meals were packed with salt, fat or sugar.<\/p>\n The meals are “a healthy alternative\u201d to what many people would find in their grocery stores, Andrew Nixon<\/a>, U.S. Health and Human Services spokesperson, told the AP.<\/em><\/p>\n Kennedy, who has pushed for better food policies and fewer ultraprocessed foods, has made improving Americans\u2019 diets a key goal under his “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.<\/p>\n He says eating more whole foods is the foundation for better health, the AP <\/em>said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis country has lost the most basic of all freedoms \u2014 the freedom that comes from being healthy,\u201d Kennedy said.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n Yale Medicine has more on ultraprocessed foods<\/a>.<\/p>\n