USDA Eliminates Two Major Food Safety Committees
Concerns have been raised after the Trump administration shut down two important federal advisory committees on food safety as part of efforts to reduce government spending. Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) eliminated the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods and the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection, both of which included experts from various fields such as academia, industry, and nonprofit organizations.
Sandra Eskin, CEO of the food safety advocacy group Stop Foodborne Illness, criticized the move, expressing a lack of confidence in the USDA and FDA’s ability to create effective food safety policies without the committees’ input. These advisory committees had been involved in crucial food safety issues, such as the use of genomic tools to detect pathogens like listeria, which was responsible for a deadly outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meats last year. They had also worked on concerns about Cronobacter contamination in powdered infant formula, a topic of heightened importance after a 2022 Similac recall caused a nationwide shortage.
Michael Hansen, a senior staff scientist at Consumer Reports and a member of one of the disbanded committees, stated that he and other members were informed by email last week that their work would cease immediately. Hansen expressed surprise that the committees were completely disbanded rather than temporarily paused. The notice about their dissolution referenced a February 19 executive order from President Donald Trump aimed at eliminating what were considered unnecessary federal advisory committees.
Critics of the decision argue that it will not result in significant cost savings and could diminish food safety oversight. Timothy Lytton, a professor at Georgia State University College of Law, argued that eliminating these committees would strip the USDA of critical scientific expertise needed to make informed decisions about food safety, particularly concerning meat and poultry inspection. Without the committees, inspectors will continue their work, but they will no longer have the benefit of up-to-date scientific knowledge on microbiological testing and safety metrics.
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