SILVER SPRING, MD — The FDA’s plan to restructure its Human Foods Program (HFP), announced in early 2023, has been approved. The reorganization involves the creation of a unified HFP, adoption of a new model for its field operations and other modernization efforts. The implementation date is set for Oct. 1.
The plan brings the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the Office of Food Policy and Response, and key functions of the Office of Regulatory Affairs under the leadership of Jim Jones, who was appointed to the newly created position of deputy commissioner last summer.
“This is a distinctive moment for the FDA,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, MD. “I’m pleased to see that after a year and a half of arduous work and effort put into this transformative vision for the FDA Human Foods Program and the architecture of the agency, we are a step closer to seeing the largest reorganization of the agency in recent history come to life this fall.”
The creation of a unified HFP will help the agency realize the preventive vision laid out in the Food Safety Modernization Act; elevate the importance of nutrition; strengthen local, state and international partnerships; and position the FDA to regulate innovative food and agricultural products effectively.
“This reorganization has been a major undertaking for the FDA, and I am proud of what we will be able to accomplish more efficiently and collaboratively to better meet our public health mandate.”
— Robert M. Califf, MD | commissioner | FDA
The move is also expected to create a more nimble organization that will be able to adapt quickly to changes in the industries it regulates, new food and medical product technologies, and the impacts of globalization and climate change. It will also better position the FDA to maintain the safety of the nation’s food supply and respond to food-related emergencies.
“This reorganization has been a major undertaking for the FDA,” Califf added, “and I am proud of what we will be able to accomplish more efficiently and collaboratively to better meet our public health mandate.”
Read the full list of Human Foods Program changes in the Federal Register.
