February 18, 2025

Jim Jones, the FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, resigned in protest yesterday after dozens of staff members were terminated over the holiday weekend.

In his letter of resignation, quoted in part on several news sites, Jones pointed out that the fired employees were individuals with “highly technical expertise in nutrition, infant formula, food safety response,” and included ten staffers responsible for reviewing potentially unsafe ingredients in food.

A dollop of history

During the first Trump administration, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb eliminated the position of Deputy Commissioner for Food, resulting in a fragmention of responsibilities and authority within this important sector of the FDA.

The 2022 Cronobacter sakazakii outbreak that was linked to Abbott Nutrition’s powdered infant formula products exposed serious flaws in the FDA’s organization and reporting structures.

In February 2023, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf revealed a rough plan for reorganizing the food side of the agency, including restoring the position of Deputy Commissioner for Human Food.

Jim Jones assumed that post in September 2023 with a mandate to implement the restructuring program.

It makes no sense

The Cronobacker sakazakii outbreak occurred in part because the FDA did not have enough trained personnel to provide effective oversight of the infant formula industry.

How does it make sense to terminate staffers with special expertise in infant formula oversight?

RFK, Jr., the newly confirmed Secretary for Health and Human Services, has touted his support for healthy eating, for reducing the number of additives in foods, and for tackling the role of processed foods in childhood obesity.

How does it make sense to terminate staffers with expertise in nutrition?

The FDA food safety investigation staff already was spread thin, and recalls and foodborne illnesses were up in 2024 over the previous year.

How does it make sense to terminate food safety response staffers?

FDA’s food program now a headless snake

Just as the body of a rattlesnake will continue to writhe after it is has been decaptitated, the FDA’s human food program will muddle on for a while.

Just don’t expect it to know where it’s going.