Potatoes will continue to be classified as a vegetable and not a grain, Collins says

Spuds will not be considered starch after protests from more than a dozen senators.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she received assurances Wednesday that potatoes would not be reclassified as a grain, a move she feared would give the impression that one of Maine’s staple crops is unhealthy.

Collins said she received a call from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (cc) Sec. Tom Vilsack breaks the news in response to concerns about redistricting raised by both a group of bipartisan senators and the National Potato Council.

“The reclassification of potatoes would have sent a false message to the public that the USDA believes potatoes are not healthy. The fact is that, when prepared properly, the potato is a deliciously nutritious food that is affordable, easy to transport, has a long shelf life and can be used in a wide variety of recipes,” Collins said in a statement.

“I am pleased that Secretary Vilsack personally called me to inform me that the USDA has no plans to reclassify potatoes and recognizes that potatoes are, in fact, a vegetable.”

The concerns about the specifications for the tubers come as the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory prepares its report to USDA and Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop dietary guidelines.

The National Potato Council feared the discussions would include “the interchangeability of starchy vegetables and grains.”

USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment but previously tried to quell speculation.

“The 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is not considering a change in the classification of potatoes. It is not within the authority of the commission to make such a change,” the agency said in March.

The Advisory Committee provides independent, science-based recommendations to the USDA and HHS Secretaries to help inform their development of the Dietary Guidelines.

Collins said Thursday that she hopes HHS will “follow the USDA’s lead and recognize the same reality.”

Although Maine is often associated with blueberries and lobster, it is a potato powerhouse. The state is one of the top 10 potato producers in the country, growing nearly $300 million worth of potato crops last year.

Collins noted the crop’s nutritional value Thursday, highlighting that the vegetable is packed with potassium, vitamin C and vitamin B6, as well as fiber.

Yet state statistics indicate that “65 percent of Maine potatoes are used for processed foods such as chips and chips.”

In a March letter, Collins, along with colleagues, wrote that if potatoes were reclassified, “consumers would miss out on essential nutrients,” while the move would “confuse consumers, retailers, restaurant operators, growers and the entire supply chain.”

The lawmakers also noted that school lunch programs are already struggling to meet vegetable consumption guidelines in an affordable way.

This is not the first time that the classification of vegetables and nutritional standards for school meals have come under scrutiny. When the USDA proposed a limit of two servings of starchy vegetables per week in 2011, the potato industry fought back, with the support of senators from potato-growing states. The Senate approved a measure that would prevent the USDA from imposing limits.

Similarly, the USDA proposal that year said tomato paste on pizza would not count toward setting limits on weekly vegetable consumption standards, but the Senate fought back and passed a measure to block that proposal.

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