What Secretary Kennedy Actually Said About Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks

By Adam Garrie, Breaking News Reporter, The MAHA Report

The rumors of what HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said about Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks have been greatly exaggerated.

During MAHA Action’s Eat Real Food rally in Austin, on February 26, Secretary Kennedy spoke of the need for consumer information about popular beverages. Addressing a crowd of supporters, Kennedy said, “We’re going to ask Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks, ‘Show us the safety data that show that it’s okay for a teenage girl to drink an iced coffee with 115 grams of sugar in it.’ I don’t think they’re going to be able to do it.”

But that’s not what social and legacy media reported he said. Kennedy’s remarks have been misconstrued to suggest he threw shade on the nutritional benefits of iced drinks sold at popular chains.

Dunkin’ Donuts customers, particularly in New England where the franchise is especially popular, responded angrily to the HHS Secretary’s misconstrued remarks. Even Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey weighed in, posting a “come and take it meme” with an image of a Dunkin’ style beverage. The clear implication – that Kennedy seeks to ban the sale of such drinks.

The Truth

Secretary Kennedy has long championed informed consent in clinical settings, and consumer information in the retail sector. At no time has Kennedy ever sought to ban the sale of unhealthy foods and beverages. This remains the case regarding Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks.

Addressing the false reading of his statement in Austin, Kennedy wrote the following on X, “No one is taking away your Dunkin’. But isn’t it reasonable to ask whether a drink loaded with 180 grams of sugar is safe?”

Here, Kennedy makes it clear that he’s against any ban on the sale of Dunkin’s cold drinks. The same would apply to Starbucks or any other fast food chain.

Research also demonstrates that Kennedy’s assumptions about the sugar content of Drunkin’ drinks was accurate. According to Dunkin’s 2026 nutrition data, a large Frozen Coffee with “Coffee Swirl”and cream can range from 129g to 142g of total sugar, with roughly 129g of that being added sugar.

The Context

Under Secretary Kennedy’s direction, the FDA is reviewing the “Generally Recognized as Safe”(GRAS) standard applied to the food industry. GRAS has, for decades, allowed makers of ultra-processed food, as well as fast food companies, to self-certify potentially unhealthy ingredients rather than subject them to a scientific review by federal regulators.

Kennedy has also expressed concerns about the abundance of refined sugar in many beverages served at fast-food chains, due to the well- known causal link between excessive amounts of refined sugar and chronic disease.

The Significance

Federal and state regulators have long established standards for the disclosure of nutritional information. However, if this information is incomplete or even hidden due to the loophole that GRAS provides, the spirit of these long standing regulations is being obstructed by a tangled web of bureaucratic lethargy and corporate opportunism.

Secretary Kennedy’s simple statement was an appeal to provide the public with accurate consumer information, not an indictment on specific franchises. This is an issue that has been and ought to remain non-partisan.