FDA's Unified Human Foods Program and Other Modernization Efforts Go into Effect

The following is attributed to Robert M. Califf, M.D., FDA commissioner; Jim Jones, deputy commissioner for human foods; and Michael Rogers, associate commissioner for inspections and investigations.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the oldest comprehensive consumer protection agency in the country, is marking a new chapter. For more than a century, the FDA has, among other things, had the responsibility to help ensure the safety of food products consumed by hundreds of millions of U.S. consumers while also promoting healthy diet and improved nutrition.

We are pleased to announce that today, the unified Human Foods Program, a new model for field operations and other modernization efforts is now in effect. This is the single largest reorganization in the agency's modern history, as it impacts more than 8,000 employees and touches almost every facet of the FDA. We appreciate the dedication and enthusiasm of the FDA staff who are on this reorganization journey with us, as well as the helpful feedback we received from external parties over the last year and a half.

In particular, the establishment of the Human Foods Program allows us to most effectively deliver on our 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 our food. This will enable us to zero in on those issues where intervention has the greatest opportunity for the prevention of disease and for the promotion of wellness. 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.  

An important part of this reorganization also includes restructuring and renaming our field operations unit to focus on inspections, investigations and imports as its core mission. Restructuring the Office of Inspections and Investigations, formerly known as the Office of Regulatory Affairs, extends beyond foods and has an impact on how the FDA oversees all FDA-regulated products. We have created an enterprise-wide structure that will enhance collaboration between our field investigators and other subject matter experts throughout the agency and modernize and strengthen the entire agency to work more cohesively and collaboratively in accomplishing our collective public health mission.

We will also pilot a new online consumer complaint form to both improve the consumer experience when submitting complaints as well as internally handle complaints more efficiently and effectively, helping the FDA to better detect and respond to emerging public health risks.

We are committed to building a stronger, more integrated and modernized agency. This is the goal across the agency and includes our laboratories, food safety and nutrition, medical products, tobacco products and cosmetics.

The work has really only begun. We are hopeful this modernization and reorganization will enhance transparency and trust in the agency as we work together both inside and outside the FDA to better meet our country's shared public health goals.