FDA's newly minted deputy commissioner of foods, Jim Jones, says he's committed to implementing the recommendations of the Reagan-Udall Foundation report in a way that changes the agency's culture and improves its oversight of human foods.
Jones, who helped write the report by the independent panel, told reporters Thursday FDA’s staff is “highly skilled” and dedicated but believes the agency's organizational structure has been getting in the way of effectively managing the human foods program.
“When I talk to staff about it, this is ultimately about creating a structure that will allow you to optimize your skills, allow you to do what it is you’re here to do, what you want to do, which is to protect the health and well-being of Americas,” he said.
The Reagan-Udall report found a lack of clearly defined leadership has hampered FDA’s work in food and nutrition, even as concerns over those issues have received ever-increasing attention, such as an infant formula shortage caused by the shutdown of an Abbott Laboratories’ plant with safety issues, and growing obesity rates.
Jones said all the data show diet-related chronic illnesses are moving in the wrong direction.
“We need to turn this around,” he said, which will require partnerships with colleagues and other federal and state agencies, as well as food producers and those who sell food.
He said that actions the agency is already considering have the “potential to move the needle in the right direction as it relates to nutrition and well-being of Americans.” This includes front-of-package labeling, reduced added sugars consumption and voluntary sodium reductions.
FDA is two years into a two-and-a -half-year target commitment to reduce sodium levels in food through voluntary measures. Jones said the agency is likely to revisit the commitment next spring to determine future steps.
“As a lifelong regulator, I’m always suspicious of voluntary goals. But if they work, you want to go with them. And so far, the evidence that we have is that they are working and so we plan to continue to move in that direction,” Jones said.
When asked specifically if the nation is better prepared today to protect the infant formula supply, he said FDA is in a “very aggressive posture” in terms of inspecting the facilities where infant formula is made. He noted he believes actions could be taken quickly if needed, unlike the months-long delay that occurred before the massive recalls.
Previously, Jones spent decades as a regulator at the Environmental Protection Agency with a chemical safety background. He said FDA Commissioner Robert Califf has made it a high priority, and he’s excited to “move the ball forward” to examine chemicals in food, whether intentionally added, or indirectly through food packaging.
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“FDA has got a meaningful role in ensuring the safety of chemicals that are allowed in food,” he said. “We need to step up our game in that respect.”
He said he believes through the post-market review process, FDA should evaluate those chemicals that were once considered safe. “I have a feeling from past experience that we will find some examples where that is not the case,” that some chemicals may no longer be seen as safe, he said.
Jones said FDA is reconsidering the use of brominated vegetable oil as a food ingredient because a recently published study raised potential safety concerns. California has already taken action. Brominated vegetable oil is primarily used in citrus-flavored soda.
“The more active the federal government is, the less active states feel the need to be,” he said of states superseding federal decisions.
He wants FDA to be more active on such issues, because they affect everybody in this country, not just those in the states that have taken action.
"I believe everybody in this country deserves the same level of protection. It shouldn't be a function of where you live," he said.
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