On August 26, 2025, NYC released an update to the Food Standards for Meals and Snacks Purchased and Served, which applies to foods bought and served by 11 city agencies and their contractors. From schools and public hospitals to older adult centers and shelters, these guidelines affect approximately 219 million meals and snacks a year. The revision is backed by Executive Order 8 (2022), which reaffirmed the standards and formalized the city’s commitment to the Good Food Purchasing framework. Agencies and contractors must be in compliance by July 1, 2026.
Ingredient bans
Under previous standards, the city set numeric caps and category limits but did not require a blanket prohibition on artificial colors or low- or no-calorie sweeteners in purchased foods.
The updated standards reflect an explicit prohibition on low- and no-calorie sweeteners (including sugar alcohols), artificial colors (e.g., Red 40, Yellow 5/6, titanium dioxide, caramel color), certain flour additives (azodicarbonamide, potassium bromate/iodate), and select preservatives (BHA, propylparaben) across all purchased foods.
Processed meat
Processed meat is eliminated from purchased foods. Earlier standards allowed deli meats if they met sodium limits, but now that allowance is gone.
Sugar and dairy details tighten
Cereal now must have no more than 6g of added sugar per serving. The previous limit was no more than 10 g of sugar for most settings–like schools, older adult centers, and shelters. Some stricter limits were already in place for city-contracted child care programs.
Yogurt now must have no more than 7 g added sugar per 4 oz (and no more than 3 g per 4 oz for ages 2-4). This is down from 15 g per 4 oz in prior standards.
For ages 5-18, flavored milk and soy are allowed no more than 10 g of added sugar per serving, with a recommendation to drop to no more than 8 g and phase out flavored options for all ages.
Beverages
The new guidelines prohibit both added sugars and low/no-calorie sweeteners in all beverages citywide. Older rules allowed no more than 25 cal per 8 oz in beverages for adults, which effectively permitted diet drinks.
Sodium
The previous guideline’s per-item cap ( no more than 480 mg per serving) remains, but canned/frozen vegetables are reduced to no more than 220 mg per serving, down from no more than 290 mg.
Plant-forward shift
There are new required minimum plant-protein servings and limits on beef/ruminant meats. For example, there will be no more than 2 servings per week of beef/ruminant meats at sites serving 3 meals per/day. This builds on a 2022 policy direction to phase out the use of processed meats and set plant-based minimums.
Deep-frying
These standards continue the prohibition on deep-fried foods and require new kitchens to be fry-free.
The updated standards mark a steady evolution in how New York City approaches public food service. Earlier standards were largely nutrient-centric (sodium/sugar caps, calories per meal) and included elimination of trans fats. By adding ingredient-level prohibitions (artificial colors, certain sweeteners, specific additives and preservatives), the new standards move the system toward food quality and away from loopholes such as diet beverages and ultra-processed formulations that only technically hit numeric targets. Those products could meet the numeric limits for calories, sugar, or sodium by using artificial sweeteners, colors, or highly processed ingredients, allowing low-quality items to qualify even if they weren’t necessarily nutritious.
While the changes are significant, especially for vendors serving the city, they reflect broader public health priorities such as reducing chronic disease risk, sustainable sourcing, and ensuring equitable access to nutritious meals.
For more information on the city’s public food system, see our 2014 report, The Public Plate in New York City, which examined the ways agencies manage hundreds of millions of publicly funded meals each year.
Further Reading and Sources:
2025 Standards PDF – NYC DOH
Food Forward NYC: 2-Year Progress Report (2023) – documents the April 2022 update (added-sugar and beef limits; plant-protein minimums; processed meat phase-out)
FY23 Compliance Report
Executive Order 8 (2022) – reaffirms standards; commits to Good Food Purchasing
Executive Order No. 122, September 19, 2008 – “The Commissioner for the Health Department and the Coordinator shall develop City Agency Food Standards (“Food Standards”) for all meals or food supplies that are purchased, prepared or served in agency programs or other relevant settings.”
