Americans have calmed down somewhat now that the elections are over and, while some are still licking their wounds, others are excited about the future. Historically, did you know that Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris is only the second time in U.S. history that a former president has won a nonconsecutive term? The other was Grover Cleveland in 1892. Trump will also be the first felon to hold office, and, at 78, the oldest person to be elected to the presidency. These facts aside, another reality of the elections brought control of the Senate to the Republican side of the aisle and at press time, the control of the House is still undecided. Plus, anticipation grows as there are more than 4,000 federal government political appointee positions that Trump must fill.
Congress has returned to Capitol Hill after spending a brief period on the campaign trail chasing votes leading up to Election Day. Now members of Congress need to address some must-pass legislation during the five-week lame-duck session that encompasses the rest of November and most of December. Of course, contending with our newly elected President and many new House and Senate members will surely create a lot of added tension too.
At the top of the list of “must-pass” legislation in Congress is a final funding deal or pushing it off till the new Congress convenes in January. That means lawmakers have a brief period to pass numerous annual spending bills, called appropriations, which fund the federal government. And within our food industry, there are few more critical issues than the Farm Bill (more on that later in my commentary) as well as credit card swipe fee reform. Everything comes down to the wire as usual. However, I have been around long enough to say again that what we have in store for the holiday season is another spending battle and that is par for the game of politics. Brace yourself for many anticipated changes to come on the Hill prior to the end of this calendar year.
Human Foods Program Officially Launched
Did you know that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the oldest comprehensive consumer protection agency in the country? The FDA and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) are the two primary departments that provide comprehensive oversight of our food industry from farm to fork. Well, the exciting news of the day is that a new chapter has just been launched within the FDA. As of October 1, the new unified Human Foods Program (HFP) officially began. And to say it is a huge change is putting it mildly. The Human Foods Program is the single largest reorganization in FDA’s modern history as it impacts more than 8,000 employees and touches every facet of FDA’s bureaucracy.
In particular, the HFP allows FDA to more effectively deliver on their mission to protect and promote public health through science-based approaches to prevent foodborne illness, reduce diet-related chronic disease and ensure the safety of chemicals in food products. In summary, the HFP puts the emphasis upon “food” back into the mission of the FDA which critics say has focused too much on the “drug” side of the FDA for too many years. FDA said in a press release distributed on October 1st that “we are confident that the new, world-class Human Foods Program will better protect and support consumers and improve our employees’ ability to carry out the FDA’s public mission.” One of the very first initiatives of HFP was to re-connect with FDA’s stakeholders (see below).
FDA Introduces Streamlined Complaint Process
On October 1, as part of the new HFP, the FDA announced a new, streamlined approach for processing complaints, including whistleblower complaints, which will improve the agency’s ability to detect and respond to problems related to FDA-regulated products and better protect public health. A complaint may be about an illness, injury, allergic reaction, or other health-related issues or about defects in the quality or safety of an FDA-regulated food, dietary supplement, or cosmetic products. Now, the public will be able to direct complaints about food and dietary supplements to HFP by using a new online reporting form or by calling a toll-free number.
Toxic Free Food Act Introduced
Food Safety News has reported that House Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) has introduced the Toxic Free Food Act which would require the FDA to close a major “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) loophole and make chemical food additives subject to FDA approval and oversight. In explaining what this is all about, Food Safety News said that the GRAS loophole was initially intended to cover safe ingredients, such as vegetable oil, flour, baking soda and spices. In 1997, the FDA loosened the existing protocol, creating a ‘voluntary notification’ system. At the time, this relaxation of the GRAS rule meant that companies could declare substances as GRAS, thus allowing hundreds of new chemicals to be introduced in our foods with little to no FDA oversight. DeLauro wants to change all that.
While the food industry has not commented yet on DeLauro’s bill, it is unlikely to want to give up GRAS. Supporters of DeLauro’s legislation, like the powerful Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), commented, “Food companies can add chemicals to foods without ever notifying or providing safety data to the FDA. The Toxic Free Food Act is a much-needed step to empower the FDA to protect consumers from harmful chemicals in our foods.” Stay tuned as we watch to see how this plays out.
Farm Bill Brief
As you should know by now, because I have written about it so often, Congress is way behind authorizing a new five-year Farm Bill. The Farm Bill is normally updated every five years, but the last 2018 Farm Bill expired in 2023 and was then extended for a year. The Farm Bill is a critical piece of legislation impacting the entire food industry. You will recall from my prior commentaries that the bill dictates agriculture policy, updates farm subsidies and reauthorizes nutrition assistance programs such as Women Infants and Children (WIC) Programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). But as I have said previously, any Farm Bill movement will depend on the election results, so my best guess is that a Farm Bill will not move until next year. There is a slim chance, however, that a bill could still be passed this year.
Food Assistance Programs
As a sidebar note about the Farm Bill and WIC (Women, Infants and Children), the National WIC Association recently published its yearly report on the state of the program and is working to urge Congress to focus on legislation that would modernize WIC technology, maintain sustainable funding and increase participation in the program by those low-income mothers who need it the most.
Supermarket News also recently reported that the SNAP and WIC programs were, as we all in the food industry know, providing “life-saving benefits” for many low-income consumers, especially during the pandemic years but it was reported that WIC usage began to decline in 2022, marking the beginning of a trend that has continued into 2024, according to a recent report from data analytics firm Numerator. On the brighter side, 88 percent of eligible individuals participated in SNAP in fiscal year 2022, which is the latest reporting period. Thus, you can count that there will be considerable pressure from key members of Congress as well as NGO (non-government organizations) groups to maintain funding and increase WIC and SNAP benefits in the next Farm Bill.
Banning Cell-Grown Meat
In prior commentaries, I have written about cell-grown meat products and the battle brewing by cattle-producers to ban those products. Their argument is that cell-grown meat products are a major threat to traditional animal agriculture and to date, a half-dozen states have enacted legislation banning the sale of cell-grown meat products. Guess they are afraid of a little competition. And across the pond in the United Kingdom, while there are currently no cell-based products approved for human consumption, the positive news is that the U.K. has launched a two-year program to study cell-based products as opposed to the actions of some states in the U.S. who prefer to shoot from the hip at cell-based technology. We at Policy Solutions think such bans are battles that are questionable. Even U.S. food scientists agree. For example, Food Technology Magazine ran a recent cover story with the headline “Shackling American Innovation: The Crusade to Criminalize Cultivated Meat.” Hopefully, clearer minds will prevail.
Register Or Renew Your Food Facility Registration by December 31
Owners, operator, or agents in charge of a domestic or foreign facility engaged in manufacturing/processing, packing, or holding food for consumption by humans or animals in the U.S., are required to register the facility with the FDA. The registration and renewal period are open till December 31, 2024. The FDA will consider the registration of a food facility to be expired if a facility’s registration is not renewed by the end of this year. There is no fee associated with the registration or renewal. Owners, operators, or agents in charge of food facilities must submit their renewal information electronically through their own FDA Industry System account, unless they have received a waiver that allows for paper submission. You can also call 240.247.8804 for further information or use e-mail FURLS@fda.gov to reach out to the FDA.
What’s With Weight-Loss Drugs?
Obesity is high in the United States as we all know, and that is nothing to be proud of especially when comparing the U.S. to other countries where overweight citizen levels fall below Americans. The U.S. obesity rate is about 40 percent, according to a 2021-2023 government survey! Nearly 1 in 10 of those surveyed reported severe obesity, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.
Is that why we are all seeing so many TV ads for weight-loss drugs? Perhaps. It is too soon to know whether new treatments for obesity can help reduce the obesity rate in the U.S., but you can bet there will be lots of new research projects underway in 2025 to address the value of weight-loss drugs.
Barry Scher is associated with the public policy firm of Policy Solutions LLC and can be reached at Bscher@policy-solutions.net.
