Food and Drug Administration Food Director Jim Jones resigned on Monday, citing what he called a “indiscriminate” layoff, saying he “can't continue.”
In his resignation letter, Jones estimated that 89 of his department were fired over the weekend, many of whom were newly hired and relating to chemical safety to protect the country's food supply. I did a more detailed job.
“We were looking forward to pursuing the department's agenda to improve American health by reducing the risks from diet-related chronic diseases and chemicals in food,” Jones said on behalf of the deputy committee. I wrote in a letter submitted to Sarah Brenner. FDA
But the Trump administration's “a bitch to the very people” that would do the job had no choice but to leave, he said.
Jones also criticizes the FDA for being too seen in the industry he overseen by the FDA and vows to dismiss the agency's nutrition staff, making a new appointment with the Department of Health and Human Services. We selected the secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“It is harmful for anyone to say that the secretary's comments are imposes on the integrity of food staff and that they are corrupted based on counterfeiting,” Jones wrote in the letter.
His resignation was first reported in the Food Fix newsletter, reporting on news from the food industry. Jones and the FDA did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The food department will adjust several additives, including artificial colours and dyes. It also plays a role in investigating the outbreak of foodborne diseases. The FDA also funds and participates in inspections of food and infant processing facilities in the US and overseas.
Food department staff were among the roughly 700 people fired from the FDA over the weekend. Those who were let go in via email said that the supervisors were not aware of the cut and were not speaking to them.
In his resignation letter, Jones described staff fired for having fresh education and experience in food safety activities “representing the agency's future.”
These workers included people with specialized skills in infant formula safety and food safety responses.
In early 2022, the department was hit with fiery criticism in the wake of a baby formula scandal that began after contracting an infection from a deadly bacteria that was also found in aging plants in Michigan. The plants were closed for a while, causing a large deficiency of formula in babies.
Jones, who is in the Environmental Protection Agency's chemical regulations, was brought to the agency in 2023 as a reformer.
During his tenure at the FDA, Jones reorganized the food sector and improved its structure to reduce barriers between people inspecting food facilities and those engaged in more scientific safety activities. He also set up a Food Chemical Safety Office, which has been comparable to an office that deals with bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli, said Scott Faber, senior vice president of government at the Environmental Working Group. He said it is a focused nonprofit advocacy organization. Reducing exposure to chemicals.
“Our food is not that safe,” Faber said. “It's a takeaway. Few leaders have experience like Jim Jones, and fewer staff members have to learn everything Jim has learned since Jim took over this job.”
However, federal food safety efforts in recent months are still behind the actions in the state, with California beating the FDA to make important food safety changes. California has passed a groundbreaking ban on several food additives, including red dye 3 in 2023, requiring disclosure of heavy metal levels in infant foods.
The FDA followed a similar ban a few weeks ago.
