NPC HAILS DGAC’S DECISION TO REJECT CLASSIFYING POTATOES AS A GRAIN BUT STUMPED BY AGENCY’S RECOMMENDATIONS TO REDUCE CONSUMPTION OF STARCHY VEGETABLES

On October 22, 2024, the National Potato Council (NPC) issued a response to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s (DGAC) recommendation encouraging Americans to limit their consumption of starchy vegetables and backed their decision to continue to classify potatoes as a vegetable. In the response, NPC CEO Kam Quarles questioned DGAC’s recommendation to reduce starchy vegetable consumption when data shows that Americans aren’t eating enough vegetables. He said their recommendation is not supported by nutritional science and will prove to be confusing to consumers. He added that the overall focus should be on increasing overall consumption of vegetables and called upon the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Department of Health and Human Services to eliminate this recommendation from any final report. In turn, Quarles applauded the panel’s decision to keep potatoes and other starchy vegetables in their current food category as the proposed change would have made potatoes more expensive for schools and other feeding programs.

The read the response in its entirety, go here.