A thorough review of the science used by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) indicates that more than 70 percent of its recommendations were not based on the reviews of USDA’s Nutritional Evidence Library (NEL). The NEL is designed to reduce bias in scientific analysis by serving as a primary resource to inform the committee about the best available scientific research and answer important food and nutrition-related questions.
In oral comments delivered to USDA and HHS at a public meeting today, North American Meat Institute Vice President of Scientific Affairs Betsy Booren, Ph.D., argued that meat and poultry products, which include red and processed meats, are an important component of a healthy American diet and questioned the inconsistency of the inclusion and exclusion criteria for studies by the DGAC, thereby undermining the credibility of many of the recommendations.