The Trump administration has terminated two decades-old, independent food safety advisory committees to the US Department of Agriculture.
The National Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Criteria for Foods and National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection , both made up of experts from academia, industry and advocacy groups, have been disbanded.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins “fully supports the president’s directive to improve government, eliminate inefficiencies, and strengthen USDA’s many services to the American people,” an agency spokesperson said. The groups were dissolved under President Donald Trump’s executive order “Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” the spokesperson said.
Members of the NACMCF were notified on Thursday that the committee would no longer continue its work, “effective immediately,” according to a memo seen by Bloomberg News.
The NACMCF was established in 1988 to offer an interagency approach on microbiological risks to food safety. Created in 1971, the NACMPI advises the Secretary of Agriculture on federal and state inspection programs. In 2024, for example, it issued a report on how technology could improve inspections.
Food safety experts expressed concern over the disbanding of the committees.
“The termination of these two important advisory committees is very alarming and should serve as a warning to consumers that food safety will not be a priority at USDA in the foreseeable future,” said Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, who was also the former chair of NACMCF. “The failure to recognize and leverage the value of this scientific expertise is dangerous and irresponsible.”
Sandra Eskin, chief executive officer of Stop Foodborne Illness, said, “Without the input of these committees, we have little confidence that the food safety policies at USDA and FDA will, in fact, Make America Healthy Again.”
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
