Title 7, AgricultureRelease 119-102

§3172 Duties of Secretary of Agriculture

Title 7 › CHAPTER 64 — AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND TEACHING › SUBCHAPTER IV — NATIONAL FOOD AND HUMAN NUTRITION RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROGRAM › § 3172

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must create and run a national food and human nutrition research and outreach program. The program must cover five things: research on human nutrient needs; study of what foods contain and how farming, handling, processing, and cooking change nutrients; tracking the nutrition benefits given to people in Department of Agriculture food programs; research on food choices and eating habits; and making methods and tools to help people at home or in institutions pick foods that provide a nutritionally adequate diet.

Full Legal Text

Title 7, §3172

Agriculture, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

In order to carry out the policy of this subchapter, the Secretary shall develop and implement a national food and human nutrition research and extension program that shall include, but not be limited to—

(1)research on human nutritional requirements;

(2)research on the nutrient composition of foods and the effects of agricultural practices, handling, food processing, and cooking on the nutrients they contain;

(3)surveillance of the nutritional benefits provided to participants in the food programs administered by the Department of Agriculture;

(4)research on the factors affecting food preference and habits; and

(5)the development of techniques and equipment to assist consumers in the home or in institutions in selecting food that supplies a nutritionally adequate diet.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Oct. 1, 1977, see section 1901 of Pub. L. 95–113, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1977 Amendment note under section 1307 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

7 U.S.C. § 3172

Title 7, Agriculture

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102