In 2000, USDA initiated a comprehensive reassessment of the Food Guide Pyramid (FGP), which was originally released in 1992. USDA has provided food guidance to the American public for over 100 years, and the Pyramid is the current graphic representation of this guidance.
This action revises Food Stamp Program regulations affecting the administrative review process available to retail and wholesale firms participating in the Food Stamp Program.
This action proposes to revise Food Stamp Program regulations pertaining to the standards for approval of Electronic Benefits Transfer systems, the participation of retail food stores and wholesale food concerns, and the state agency liabilities and federal sanctions.
Cooperación del Programa de Cupones para Alimentos con investigaciones de fraude.
After a further review of this matter, and upon advice of our legal counsel, we have reconsidered our position on the use of the Request for Contact (RFC) to facilitate household cooperation with fraud investigations. We have decided that the RFC may only be issued by state eligibility workers and only when the state agency learns of a change in the household’s circumstances that calls into question the household’s continued eligibility for the program or its current level of benefits.
The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans, three fundamental parts of the U.S. food guidance system, are now revised. The plans provide representative healthful market baskets at three different cost levels. This revision of the plans incorporates recent developments in nutrition standards and dietary guidance as well as updates reflective of food consumption and nutrient content of foods. This revision also maintains a constant real cost for each plan.