The coming cherry piecalypse - Washington Examiner

Under FDA standards of identity, you can't call something an unbaked frozen cherry pie unless it comes from the Unbaked Frozen Cherry Pie region of Michigan.

Well, that's not exactly the rule, but there really is a federal regulation on what you are and aren't allowed to call a cherry pie if that pie is frozen and unbaked. There is no such rule about blueberry pies, apple pies, or any other fruit pie. There is no such rule about unfrozen cherry pies. There is no such rule about baked-and-then-frozen cherry pies.

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Specifically, the rule requires that "the fruit content of the pie is such that the weight of the washed and drained cherry content is not less than 25 percent of the weight of the pie." Additionally, the rule requires that "not more than 15 percent by count of the cherries in the pie are blemished with scab, hail injury, discoloration, scar tissue, or other abnormality." If you're wondering about the definition of "blemished," the rule provides one: "A cherry showing skin discoloration (other than scald) having an aggregate area exceeding three-sixteenths inch in diameter is considered to be blemished."

Why is this a rule? Well, because the industry wanted it. Specifically, Democratic Sen. Philip A. Hart from Michigan wanted to help the cherry industry — 60% of all cherries were grown in Michigan, and the two companies that made up half of the cherry pie industry wanted this regulation, presumably to crowd out their lower-cost competitors.

Starting in 2018 (or back in the Bush era, depending on how you count), the FDA started trying to roll back the rule. The Washington Post in 2019 ran an op-ed against the rule change. "FDA is turning its back on pro-consumer regulations," the author wrote.

In 2020, Scott Gottlieb, the former head of the FDA, announced that progress had been made.

BREAKING. NEW PROPOSED RULE: Thanks to the hard work of my FDA team in 2018, the Federal government will no longer be regulating the contents of frozen cherry pie. The American people are free add extra fruit, sugar, and make the crust especially thick. https://t.co/8iibxK3miN pic.twitter.com/NuIUc5d64F

— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) December 17, 2020

Some in the media were very unhappy.

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And now, in October 2022, the old regulation still stands. The FDA has signaled that the revised rule, abolishing the minimum-cherry standard and the maximum-blemish rule, should come down after the midterm elections.

If it happens in December, if this naming rule is wiped away, it would show that even the Biden administration can deregulate.