It has been well over a month now since the new cabinet secretaries at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) have officially taken their positions. And what a start it was for Secretaries Brooke Rollins and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. My early assessment is that we are in for some huge changes within the USDA and HHS bureaucracy as described below.
Happenings At USDA
As House and Senate Republicans continue to scrutinize federal government operations along with Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team, USDA programs and staffing levels are on the chopping block. Thousands of USDA jobs are being eliminated and there is talk of slashing USDA funding by $230 billion, which will surely divide the GOP caucus not to mention complicate farm bill negotiations. Secretary Rollins started her first days on the job with a jolt, too. She identified more than $132 million in excess spending and terminated 78 miscellaneous contracts, and another 1,000 contracts are currently under review.…all in her first seven days on the job.
Here are several other key actions Secretary Rollins has taken thus far: sent a letter to the nation’s governors asking them to participate in a new “laboratories for innovation” initiative to create bold solutions to long-ignored USDA challenges; sent a directive to state USDA partners encouraging them to join her in pilot programs to significantly reform the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); and she convened a briefing on avian flu as part of an effort to lower egg prices (see separate story below). And this is just the beginning as Secretary Rollins said she will lead a new era at USDA to “ensure that it is the most efficient, nimble, and innovative department to serve American Agriculture since it was established by President Abraham Lincoln.”
Happenings At HHS
As you may know, several food programs as well as three critically important operational centers operate within the HHS Department. These include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Already, Secretary Kennedy has slashed staff at these three agencies including several other smaller food safety centers within HHS that are responsible for reporting on food recalls and foodborne illness outbreaks and investigations. How will all this impact Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement? It’s too early to tell but the food industry is on high alert ever since Kennedy called out the food industry as the ‘primary culprit’ in what he says is a worsening health epidemic. Still, as controversial as Kennedy’s appointment was, many of us in the food industry agree that some changes are needed to address the critical challenges within the food system and the health of Americans.
FDA Deputy Commissioner Resigns Abruptly And New Head of FDA Gets the Nod
The relatively new FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, Jim Jones, abruptly resigned last month following the termination of thousands of staff across the HHS Department. You may recall in a prior commentary of mine that the food industry was quite optimistic when Jones was first appointed as he promised to bring new food safety initiatives to the forefront of FDA’s mission, and he certainly had the credentials to do so. However, Jones said he felt it was fruitless for him to continue in his role when over 100 highly qualified technical experts in nutrition, infant formulas, and food safety, were terminated by Kennedy. The food industry was shocked about Jones’ departure to say the least. Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) President Peter Lurie compared the layoffs to going “into surgery with a hatchet instead of a scalpel, the result of which is carnage.” There may be a ray of hope for maintaining the status quo as at press time, a lot of the mass dismissals were ruled illegal by several federal judges as well as the Merit Systems Protection Board and many employees at both USDA and HHS, as well as many other federal departments and agencies, including the FDA, were being rehired. Personally, I am all for “cleaning house” to make our government more efficient but it should be done in a strict methodical manner.
At press time, Food Safety News reported that the Trump Administration was going to name Kyle Diamantas, an attorney with a huge Miami law firm, as the next Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods. While Jones’ key areas of expertise were chemical additives law and regulation, which is one of Kennedy’s main points of interest, Diamantas does not have any direct experience with food safety. Go figure. And to head up the FDA agency, we welcome Dr. Marty Makary who did receive Senate approval. Makary is a surgeon and public policy researcher at Johns Hopkins University and said at his confirmation hearing that he is a believer in science but tempered with common sense. He assured everyone that he will work hard to ensure that scientists and food directors have all the resources they need to do their jobs.
Addressing Avian Flu and Lowering Egg Prices
The new USDA Secretary has announced a $1 billion-dollar comprehensive strategy to curb highly pathogenic avian influenza and lower egg prices. The ag department drafted a five-pronged approach to these two problems that includes biosecurity measures for all U.S poultry producers; relief aid for farmers; removing regulatory burdens on the chicken and egg industry to reduce consumer prices; exploring new vaccines, therapies, and other strategies to protect egg laying chickens; and to explore temporary import-export options to reduce costs on consumers.
Fewer Food Stamp Shoppers
Last month USDA Secretary Rollins directed the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to immediately clarify and enforce all food stamp rules restricting its beneficiaries to U.S citizens and legal residents only. Her directive enforces a recent Presidential Order ensuring taxpayer resources are not used to incentivize or support illegal immigration. The exact impact her directive will have on redemption of food stamps in retail stores as well as impacting on-line transactions is the unknown.
Making Shrimp Healthy Again
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican from “shrimp country” Mississippi has introduced the Safer Shrimp Imports Act. The objective of her bill is to tighten federal inspection standards for imported shrimp. Did you know that 90% of shrimp consumed in the U.S. comes from foreign sourcing? The bill would mandate that foreign shrimp-producing countries demonstrate to the FDA that their food inspection systems are on the same par with those of the U.S. The American Shrimp Processors Association strongly supports the bill which has now been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for further action.
Food Prices in 2025
USDA is forecasting 3.3% and 3.4% growth for food-at-home and food-away-from-home prices, respectively, for 2025. For comparison purposes, in 2024 food prices increased 1.2% for food-at- home and food-away-from-home prices rose by 4.1%, according to USDA data.
So much for Trump’s campaign rhetoric he made to lower food prices while he was on the campaign trail this past November. Now he is backing away from his promises to lower food prices, stating that it will not be easy. But of course, we in the food industry knew all that.
Ban Aspartame and Food Dyes?
Aspartame, a sugar substitute, is authorized by the FDA for use in thousands of food and beverage products. Now there are renewed calls to ban the popular sweetener. While consumer concerns about the potential carcinogenic effects of aspartame are well known, we believe this issue will surface again with much more intensity because of the appointment of HHS Secretary Kennedy. Kennedy has vowed to look seriously at all food additives as well as artificial food dyes. Stay tuned!
D.C. Moves to Address Swipe Fees
The Berman Report Newsletter recently said that Washington, D.C. is the latest jurisdiction to move on tackling high credit card swipe fees and is joining other states to ban such fees from applying to sales taxes and in some cases, server tips. “The effort is happening in parallel with a movement at the federal level to more broadly lower swipe fees. Legislation called the Credit Card Competition Act, which would foster more competition within the payments arena, is expected to be reintroduced in this Congress,” said the Berman Report.
Speak English
A final note of interest. President Trump has signed an executive order making English the official U.S. language. Wait, I bet you thought English was our official language! Not so. The signing of the executive order marks the first time in history that the U.S. has had an official language since our great country was founded almost 250 years ago. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 69 million people of the country’s 340 million speak a language other than English. The U.S. is one of only five countries globally that do not have an official language. Tell me who the five countries are and get your name mentioned in my next commentary!
