In a recent 60 Minutes interview, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said FDA will address the “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) “loophole,” which allows ingredients into the food supply without FDA review, while saying he does not plan to regulate ultra-processed foods.
New data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) shows the most recent and complete picture of workforce attrition at federal agencies responsible for food safety and public health.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to acclaimed food policy journalist Helena Bottemiller Evich about the rise of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement, the current state of food and nutrition policy under its agenda, and predictions for its future.
Foreign food safety inspections conducted by FDA have hit a historic low due to Trump Administration budget and staff cuts, according to an investigative report by ProPublica.
Among the approximately 1,300 CDC staffers that were laid off by President Trump amid the government shutdown reductions in force (RIFs), 700 were quickly rehired, including the entire staff and editors of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, and 70 Epidemic Intelligence Service officers.
The Trump Administration revealed that it will begin mass layoffs of furloughed federal employees as the government shutdown continues, with HHS, which includes CDC and FDA, reported to be among the hardest hit agencies.
FDA’s Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation (CORE) Investigation Table, which summarizes ongoing and closed foodborne illness outbreak investigations, has been put on pause. Additionally, HHS is set to furlough 41 percent of its employees.
In a September 17 hearing before the Senate HELP Committee, former CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez, alongside now-resigned top CDC scientific expert Dr. Debra Houry, described the current climate at the agency and the circumstances surrounding Dr. Monarez’s termination.
This episode of Food Safety Five discusses recent events at CDC, from the loss of officials to program cuts, and how these changes are impacting food safety work.
In two letters, thousands of public health professionals from dozens of stakeholder groups and federal agencies have called for the resignation of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.), saying he is making Americans “less safe in a multitude of ways,” including food safety.
