To mark his first 100 days as head of the FDA, Martin Makary is touting his efforts to change the agency’s operations.
The Food and Drug Administration administrator says he wants to fix America’s food supply to make it more compatible to the Make America Healthy Again agenda put forth by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“I came here with big questions. . . How can we fix America’s food supply so it is not filled with harmful chemicals and additives? Why are childhood chronic diseases so prevalent? We are taking bold action to address these big, obvious problems, and more, which have been staring at us for years,” Makary said in a statement outlining what he has done so far.
Makary said FDA regulated products, including drugs and medical devices along with food, account for 20 percent of U.S. consumer spending annually. To address what he perceives as problems, Makary pointed to changes he has made.
Among the action related to the nation’s food supply, Makary has updated several import alerts including those for dietary supplements, cheeses, seafood, fish products to help prevent illegal and unauthorized products flooding the U.S. market and risking the safety and health of U.S. consumers.
Makary said other highlights from his first 100 days include:
- Improving infant formula – Continued the work of Operation Stork Speed by hosting an expert roundtable on infant formula and exploring new ways to bring additional and healthier options without ingredients like seed oils, added sugars and heavy metals to market.
- Petroleum-based food dye removal – Requested that companies voluntarily phase out petroleum-based synthetic food dyes from the U.S. food supply, which are linked to numerous health risks
- Food chemical review – Initiated a review of chemicals currently in the food supply, such as BHT, BHA and ADA and expedited the review of chemicals currently under review, such as phthalates, propylparaben and titanium dioxide.
- GRAS reform – Exploring rulemaking to require “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) submissions to FDA to stop industry’s long-standing practice of introducing ingredients into the food supply without FDA knowledge or oversight.
- Natural food dyes – Approved uses of three food colors derived from natural sources: Galdieria extract blue, butterfly pea flower extract and calcium phosphate, and initiated an accelerated the review of other natural alternatives.
- Began revising dietary guidelines – Launched the Nutrition Regulatory Science Program in partnership with the National Institutes of Health to better address highly relevant questions for Americans’ health, such as the impact of ultra-processed foods and the effect of certain food additives.
- Defining ultra-processed foods – Will launch FDA/USDA request for data and information to help develop a uniform definition of ultra-processed foods, with an industry roundtable planned.
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