Articles Tagged with ''MAHA''

To help paint a picture of how federal food safety and public health regulatory agencies have been affected by the second Trump Administration, this article provides a 2025 timeline summarizing major happenings at HHS, FDA, CDC, and USDA, including firings and hirings, restructurings, policy changes, program and budget cuts, and other actions.

In this year-end episode of Food Safety Matters, we round up the top stories of 2025, covering U.S. federal food safety policy changes under the Trump Administration, MAHA- and state-led moves against food additives of concern and ultra-processed foods, infant formula safety, science on Listeria and biofilms, ongoing monitoring of avian flu, and AI food safety applications.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to legal expert Brian P. Sylvester, J.D. about the rapidly evolving U.S. food regulatory landscape under the MAHA movement, and how food companies can prepare for state and federal policy changes regarding food dyes, GRAS ingredients, ultra-processed foods, and other areas.

Posted to the Unified Agenda in September, FDA’s developing proposed rule to tighten Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) oversight has been sent to the White House for review—the final step before publication.

After receiving significant pushback from the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement, Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) has eliminated from his draft bill a preemptive provision that would render state-level food laws ineffective—a goal of the new “Big Food” lobby group, Americans for Ingredient Transparency (AFIT).

In this bonus episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Kris Sollid, RD of the International Food Information Council (IFIC) about IFIC’s recent consumer surveys measuring Americans' confidence in, and understanding of, the safety of the U.S. food supply, as well as how “MAHA” may be influencing consumer perceptions. 

Food industry representatives and consumer advocacy groups have shared their comments, which are varied in opinion, submitted in response to FDA and USDA’s joint request for information to support a federal definition for ultra-processed foods (UPFs).

Americans for Ingredient Transparency (AFIT) is campaigning for federal action to “correct a maze of state-by-state-laws” that restrict or prohibit the use of colorants, additives, and ingredients in foods. AFIT is backed by many of the largest food industry associations and companies, some of which have made voluntary commitments to phase out food dyes or other additives.

The International Association of Color Manufacturers has filed a lawsuit against the recently enacted West Virginia House Bill 2354, which prohibits foods containing certain artificial colorants and additives from being sold in the state, arguing that it is unconstitutional and unlawful.  

Assembly Bill (AB) 1264, titled, the Real Food, Healthy Kids Act, establishes a legal definition for ultra-processed foods, and tasks the state Department of Public Health with identifying and banning particularly harmful ultra-processed foods from California schools.