A total of 79 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella have been reported from seven states.
“Current food safety oversight is spread across multiple federal, state, and local agencies which decreases efficacy, creates gaps, and slows response times to potential public health risks. My bill is a commonsense step to expanding government efficiency and enhancing public health protection by unifying our food safety agencies,” said Senator Cotton.
The FDA will provide its critical expertise in regulatory science and NIH will provide the infrastructure for the solicitation, review and management of scientific research.
“FDA staff have been moving quickly to expedite the publication of these decisions, underscoring our serious intent to transition away from petroleum-based dyes in the food supply and provide new colors from natural sources.” said FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H.
The FDA conducts approximately 12,000 domestic inspections and 3,000 foreign inspections each year in more than 90 countries. U.S. manufacturers undergo frequent, unannounced inspections, foreign firms have often had weeks to prepare, undermining the integrity of the oversight process.
This report includes information on incidents investigated by the United States Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) Coordinated Outbreak Response & Evaluation (CORE) Network that were linked to FDA-regulated human food in the 2023 calendar year.
Since February, roughly 3,500 F.D.A. jobs, about 20 percent, were eliminated, representing one of the largest work force reductions among all government agencies targeted by the Trump administration. How many fired employees will be permitted to return remained unclear.
FSIS received 7,089 comments on the proposed framework during the comment period, which closed on January 17, 2025. Most of the comments were submitted as part of organized letter writing campaigns, while 1,415 were unique comment letters. The Agency believes that the comments have raised several important issues that warrant further consideration.
The FDA is fast-tracking the review of calcium phosphate, Galdieria extract blue, gardenia blue, butterfly pea flower extract, and other natural alternatives to synthetic food dyes. The agency is also taking steps to issue guidance and provide regulatory flexibilities to industry.
The Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) USA released a comprehensive white paper entitled “GRAS Reform: Food Safety Without Sacrifice” that advocates for an alternative to the total elimination of the ‘Self-GRAS’ pathway, focusing instead on eliminating the most hazardous chemicals while preserving access to safe, beneficial ingredients
