According to the New York Times and CBS News, some fired FDA food safety scientists and terminated FDA food safety labs are being reinstated, as well as several dozen inspectoral support staff, following mass layoffs handed down from the Trump Administration.
In an April 22 press conference, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary announced FDA's plan to work with industry to phase out synthetic, petroleum-based dyes from the nation’s food supply.
FDA is rumored to face significant budget cuts proposed by the White House that would shift 100 percent of the responsibility for routine food facility inspections to states. Additionally, due to layoffs, FDA has suspended its proficiency testing program for food testing laboratories and its efforts to bolster avian influenza testing in food products.
Additional resources and authorities, made possible by user fees for the regulated food industry, could enable FDA to better monitor the food supply and review the safety of ingredients, argues a new expert policy analysis.
Leaked to Inside Health Policy, an HHS proposed reorganization plan for FDA would eliminate the agency’s product-specific centers in favor of five new function-focused offices. An FDA restructuring was already very recently implemented in October 2024 after two years of development, which created a unified Human Foods Program and new Office of Inspections and Investigations.
As promised by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at the end of March, thousands of layoffs at FDA and CDC have begun. A hazy picture of how those cuts are affecting food safety-related positions is beginning to emerge, and stakeholders and legislators are voicing their opposition.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced a major restructuring that includes the firing of 10,000 employees across all its departments. FDA and CDC will lose 3,500 and 2,400 current staffers, respectively. HHS says FDA food reviewers and inspectors will not be affected.
The Trump Administration has selected current Acting Director and Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Susan Monarez, Ph.D. as its nominee for the next Director of the agency.
In a March 10 meeting with the CEOs of food industry giants, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr), known for his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, demanded that their companies end the use of artificial food dyes in their products—before the government is forced to act.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) has directed FDA to explore ways to eliminate the “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) rule, which is considered by critics to be a “loophole” that enables ingredients to enter the food supply without oversight or a formal safety review.
