Food Safety Matters Ep. 208: Reviewing 2025—A Year of Change for Food Safety Policy
Dive into the turbulent year of 2025 for food safety, where major federal agency changes left operations in disarray. Discover the fallout from staff layoffs and the shake-up of leadership at the FDA, USDA, and CDC. Unpack the contentious debate over food additives like red dye and the scrutiny of GRAS policies. Explore new movements pushing for healthier regulations and heightened consumer awareness on food safety issues. Finally, hear about AI's emerging role in enhancing food safety protocols amidst growing concerns over contaminants.
01:31:46
Acknowledge Daily Wins
- Remember that daily food safety successes vastly outnumber failures; the hosts urged professionals to acknowledge this.
- Use that perspective to stay motivated while focusing on continual improvement.
Federal Shakeup Reduced Food Safety Capacity
- The 2025 federal shakeup dramatically reduced communications and staff at FDA, USDA, and CDC, creating gaps in surveillance and response.
- These changes increased public attention but left agencies opaque and potentially under-resourced for future outbreaks.
Advisory Panels Were Cheap But Critical
- Disbanding advisory committees like NACMIF and NACMIPI removed low-cost expert scientific input during a time of workforce loss.
- Stakeholders called loudly for reinstatement, showing the committees' outsized value versus their small budget.
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Intro
00:00 • 8min
Federal agencies and the 2025 communications freeze
07:53 • 3min
Mass workforce cuts and agency reorganization
11:05 • 1min
Key personnel changes at FDA, CDC, USDA
12:32 • 2min
Advisory committees, traceability, and surveillance cuts
14:44 • 3min
Transparency, MMWR authors, and reporting challenges
17:32 • 2min
Industry and stakeholder pushback
19:51 • 8min
MAHA movement: priorities and state activity
27:52 • 2min
Food dyes, GRAS, and consumer concern
30:11 • 4min
Regulatory tradeoffs in revising GRAS
33:54 • 6min
Public awareness and IFIC survey results
39:30 • 2min
MAHA's broader chemical and nutrition agenda
41:00 • 4min
Defining ultra‑processed foods and policy risks
45:14 • 9min
PFAS and chemical contaminants in food
54:40 • 3min
Infant formula: Operation Stork Speed and outbreaks
57:44 • 6min
Manufacturing failures vs. testing for safety
01:04:04 • 4min
Listeria in biofilms: research and sanitation challenges
01:08:25 • 6min
Avian flu monitoring and food supply impacts
01:14:25 • 4min
AI adoption in food safety and FDA pilots
01:17:57 • 5min
Responsible AI: governance and human oversight
01:23:18 • 7min
Outro
01:30:19 • 1min
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we discuss the top food safety stories of 2025 and their implications. We cover:
The Trump Administration's impact on federal agencies overseeing food safety [7:52]:
- FDA, CDC Ordered to Temporarily Pause All External Communications, Obtain Trump Admin Approval
- RFK Jr. Confirmed as HHS Secretary; Widespread Firings Coming to FDA, CDC
- USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong Dismissed by Trump Administration
- Brooke Rollins Confirmed as Secretary of Agriculture, Cites 'Aggressive Plan' to Eliminate USDA Jobs
- FDA Leader Jim Jones Resigns After 89 'Indiscriminate' Firings in Human Foods Program
- Attorney Kyle Diamantas Expected to Replace Jim Jones as FDA Deputy Commissioner of Human Foods
- FDA Spending Freeze Leaves Staffers Feeling 'Dangerously Unprepared' for Next Foodborne Illness Outbreak
- Federal Workforce Data Reveal Impact of Trump Admin RIFs on USDA Food Safety Expertise
- More Than 15,000 USDA Employees Take Trump Administration's Resignation Offer
- FDA Suspends Milk Quality Testing Amid Health and Human Services Cuts
- Entire Departments of CDC Outbreak Experts Fired, Rehired During Shutdown RIFs
- FDA Reportedly Reinstating Some Fired Food Safety Scientists, Inspection Support Staff
- Government Shutdown Affects Food Safety: HHS Furloughs Employees, FDA Pauses CORE Investigation Table
- Ep. 196. Dr. Lane Highbarger: How the FDA Workforce Cuts May Impact Food Safety
- Dozens of Prominent Food Safety Stakeholders Call for Reinstatement of NACMCF and NACMPI
- USDA Withdraws Proposed Regulatory Framework for Salmonella in Poultry After Years of Development
- USDA Indefinitely Delays Enforcement of Salmonella as Adulterant in Raw Breaded, Stuffed Chicken
- CDC Slashes FoodNet Surveillance From Eight Foodborne Pathogens to Two
- Public Health Professionals, Groups Demand Resignation of HHS Secretary RFK Jr.
- Trump-Appointed CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez Fired After Clashes With Secretary Kennedy
- RFK Jr.'s Second in Command Named CDC Acting Director Following Sudden Firing
- Federal Layoffs to Hit HHS Amid Government Shutdown, May Affect Food Safety Staffers
- FDA Delays FSMA 204 Traceability Rule Compliance Date by 30 Months
States and the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) movement declare war on "toxic" food chemicals and ultra-processed foods (UPFs) [27:52]:
- FDA Announces Plan to Phase Out Synthetic, Petroleum-Based Food Dyes From U.S. Food Supply
- Bonus Episode: Diamantas and Choiniere: FDA Focuses on Produce Safety, MAHA, Culture, and More
- MAHA Report Sets Stage for Overhaul of Food Chemicals, Environmental Contaminants, and Childhood Nutrition
- What the Final MAHA Report Could Mean for Food Safety
- FDA Announces 'Proactive' Post-Market Chemical Review Program to Keep Food Supply Safe
- FDA Adds Six Artificial Food Dyes to List of Chemicals Under Post-Market Review
- FDA to Issue Proposed Rule Tightening GRAS Oversight
- FDA's Developing Rule to Tighten GRAS Oversight Moves to White House
- FDA, USDA Issue Joint RFI to Address the Risks of Ultra-Processed Foods
- California Enacts Law Defining Ultra-Processed Foods, Will Ban UPFs in Schools
- Food Industry Stakeholders Share Input on FDA, USDA's Intent to Define UPFs
- MAHA Pushback Kills 'Big Food'-Aligned Legislative Effort to Stop State Food Laws
- Industry Giants Support New Coalition Aimed at Stopping MAHA-Aligned State Food Additive Bans
- More Than 80 Groups Urge Congress Not to Block State Food Additives Bans
- Ep. 187. Rainer and Coneski: Evolving Legislation Around Food Packaging Chemicals and Additives—Implications for Industry
- Ep. 199. George Misko: The Future of Food Regulation Under MAHA
- Ep. 162. Brian Sylvester: How the California Food Safety Act is Shaping U.S. Food Additives Regulation
- Ep. 207. Brian Sylvester: Preparing for 'MAHA'-Driven Policy Changes on Food Dyes, UPFs, GRAS
FDA's focus on infant formula safety and the infant botulism outbreak linked to ByHeart formula [57:44]:
- FDA Publishes Long-Term Strategy to Increase Resiliency of U.S. Infant Formula Market
- FDA Launches 'Operation Stork Speed' to Improve Infant Formula Safety, Including Contaminant Testing
- Infants Nationwide Hospitalized With Botulism After Consuming ByHeart Formula
- ByHeart Outbreak Grows: 31 Infants in 15 States Hospitalized for Botulism From Tainted Formula
- Infant Botulism Spike Exceeds 100 Cases, Extent of ByHeart's Involvement Unclear
- A History of Food Safety Failures at ByHeart, the Formula Company Behind Infant Botulism Outbreak
- ByHeart Finds Widespread Contamination in Infant Formula as Botulism Outbreak Grows; FDA Publishes Inspection Reports
- Coalition Urges RFK Jr. to Fix Infant Formula Oversight Problems that Allowed Infant Botulism Outbreak
- FDA Urges Industry to Improve Recall Efficiency After Delay in Removing ByHeart Formula from Stores
Emerging science on Listeria monocytogenes and biofilms [1:08:26]:
- Study Shows Water Hoses as Reservoirs for Biofilms in Food Processing Facilities
- Study Demonstrates Listeria's Ability to Colonize, Survive in Preexisting Multispecies Biofilms
- First-of-its-Kind Study Shows How Listeria Strains Evolve Into Strong Biofilm Formers
- Study Explores Sanitizer Limitations Against Listeria Biofilms in Leafy Greens Production
- Listeria From Multispecies Biofilms More Prone to Growth in RTE Foods, Study Shows
- Study Shows Combining Antimicrobial Blue Light and Chemical Sanitizers Can Enhance Listeria Inactivation
- FAO/WHO Developing Risk Assessment Models for Listeria in Four Food Commodity Groups
The ongoing Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1) outbreak in U.S. dairy cattle and poultry flocks and continued monitoring to ensure food safety [1:14:09]:
- California Declares State of Emergency Over HPAI H5N1 Outbreak in Dairy Cows
- USDA Begins Five-Part National Milk Testing Strategy for HPAI H5N1
- USDA Extends H5N1 Testing in Dairy Cattle; EU Releases Guidance on Avian Flu Prevention
- CDC: Avoid Consuming Raw Milk, as Risk of Bird Flu Infection is Low but Possible
- FDA-Backed Study Shows Aging Raw Milk Cheese Does Not Inactivate Avian Flu, but Low pH Helps
- Study Shows Avian Flu Does Not Pose Food Safety Risk in Various Pasteurized Dairy Products
- USDA to Invest in Farm Biosecurity, Chicken Vaccinations to Combat Avian Influenza
- Study Shows Acidification is Inexpensive, Easy Way to Inactivate Bird Flu in Raw Waste Milk
- FDA Now Requires Raw Pet Food Manufacturers to Consider HPAI in Food Safety Plans
- House Cat Dies After Eating Raw Pet Food Contaminated With HPAI H5N1
- FDA-Backed Study Shows Aging Raw Milk Cheese Does Not Inactivate Avian Flu, but Low pH Helps
- H5N1 and the Growing Risk to Food Safety—Why Raw Milk Requires Special Attention
- FDA Begins Testing Assignment for HPAI H5N1 in Aged Raw Cow Milk Cheese
- FAO Encourages All Countries to Monitor for HPAI H5N1 Spread to Cattle
- Dutch Field Studies Show Promise for Two Experimental Avian Flu H5N1 Vaccines
- Federal Workforce Data Reveal Impact of Trump Admin RIFs on USDA Food Safety Expertise
Growing artificial intelligence (AI) applications for food safety [1:17:57]:
- FAO Report Highlights Needs for Responsible AI Adoption in Food Safety Fields
- FDA Announces Completion of First AI-Assisted Scientific Review Pilot and Agency-Wide AI Rollout Timeline
- Using AI, Researchers Offer Promising Real-Time Mycotoxin Detection Method for Foods
- Big Data, AI, and the Coming Philosophical Challenges with Food Safety
- Welcome to the Machine: AI and Potential Implications for the Food Industry
- Ep. 193. Christian Ararat: A Global Perspective on Auditing, Certifications, AI, and Beyond
- Ep. 205. Black and Gabor: Digital Transformation and Emerging International Standards for Food Safety
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