FDA plans to review chemicals in US food supply, official says
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose agency oversees the FDA, has pledged to tackle chronic illnesses by overhauling the U.S. diet. He has pushed for bans on synthetic food colors and encouraged fast-food chains to switch to beef tallow instead of seed oils for French fries.
The FDA, which has suffered mass layoffs under President Donald Trump, will update a list of chemicals that will be top priorities for reviews, said Diamantas, acting deputy commissioner for human foods.
"Historically FDA has been somewhat reactionary when it comes to reviewing chemicals in the food supply," he said at a food safety conference outside Chicago. "The goal is to move to a proactive process to ensure that the chemicals in our food remain safe."
The FDA will prioritize reviews of chemicals including butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT); butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA); and azodicarbonamide (ADA), Diamantas said. BHT is one of the most commonly used antioxidants in foods containing fats, according to the health department, opens new tab.
The FDA plans to release a scheme for highlighting other chemicals for reviews that will be available for public feedback this month, Diamantas said. Chemicals may be assessed based on consumers' concerns or on other countries' data and regulatory actions, he said.
Even as food chemicals and nutrition have received a lot of attention, Diamantas told the conference that the FDA is still committed to microbiological food safety, which is the agency's division with the most employees and funding.
Kennedy said on Wednesday that the "central focus" of the FDA and National Institutes of Health will be on studying ultra-processed foods, sugars and food additives.
At the CDC, which also operates under Kennedy, an environmental health division endured layoffs and is no longer at the agency, said Megin Nichols, director of CDC's division of foodborne, waterborne, and environmental diseases.
The division was critical to food safety and CDC continues to "maintain the spirit of that work," Nichols said in a virtual appearance at the conference.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
12 minutes ago
- The Sun
My husband of 5 months went to bed with a headache and woke up having a seizure – doctors gave him 5% chance of living
CAMI and Jake Bartel had been married just five months when their world was turned upside down. Just before bed one night in 2019, Jake, then 27, complained of a headache, nothing Cami, 23 at the time, thought much of. 8 8 8 The couple went to sleep as normal at their home in Chicago, and both hoped it would pass by morning. But at 4am on October 1, Cami woke to find Jake having a seizure right beside her in bed. 'I called 911 immediately. It was surreal, almost like watching someone else's life unravel,' said Cami, now 28. 'One moment we were planning our future, and the next I was rushing my 27-year-old husband to hospital without knowing if he'd survive.' What started as a simple headache had spiralled into a full-blown medical emergency overnight. By the time Jake was admitted, doctors were completely baffled. 'He didn't just have a seizure,' said Cami. 'There was also swelling on his brain, and that really scared everyone.' Medics initially suspected a severe viral or bacterial infection and ran urgent tests for everything from meningitis to West Nile virus. 'They told me they were checking for all kinds of infections,' she said. 'But every single test came back negative. It was like watching them search in the dark while Jake got worse.' With no clear answers and Jake's condition deteriorating rapidly, doctors prepared Cami for the worst. 'That's when they gave me the five per cent survival rate,' she says. 'They assumed it had to be some virus they just couldn't identify, but they weren't even considering anything beyond that. 'I was 22, sitting there, trying to process that my husband, who had been healthy just hours earlier, might not make it through the night.' But Jake, now 32, defied the odds and was discharged from hospital just two weeks later. However, the nightmare was far from over, as no one could explain what had happened or why. 8 8 'We went home with no diagnosis, just this overwhelming sense of fear mixed with relief,' said Cami. During the hospital stay, one resident doctor had mentioned MELAS, a rare mitochondrial disorder that usually appears in childhood. At 27, Jake didn't fit the profile so most doctors brushed it off, but the couple agreed to genetic testing, just in case. Then, at the end of 2019, they got the call that would change everything: Jake tested positive for MELAS - Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy, Lactic Acidosis, and Stroke-like Episodes. 'It felt like someone had pulled the rug from under our lives,' Cami said. 'We had no idea what MELAS even was, and suddenly it became the defining factor in every decision we made.' MELAS is a rare, incurable genetic disorder that affects the mitochondria, organelles responsible for producing energy in the cells. Loss of youth For Jake, a large portion of those mitochondria simply don't work. 'It means his body can't generate enough energy,' Cami said. 'He can look fine on the outside, but inside his cells are starving.' The diagnosis forced them to overhaul every part of their life. Jake had to leave his position as an attorney and wine date nights stopped. He began a strict low-stress lifestyle, new medications, and a specialist diet to avoid triggering further episodes. 'We were in our 20s, and suddenly everything was about survival,' said Cami. 'The hardest part wasn't just the physical toll, it was the loss of that youthful certainty. 'That sense that the future was ours.' Looking back, Cami believes that moment reflects a wider issue. 'Mitochondrial diseases like MELAS are so often overlooked, especially in adults. "If that one resident hadn't mentioned it weeks later, we might never have found out.' 'They were convinced it was some unknown infection they couldn't identify,' said Cami. 'Mitochondrial disease wasn't even on their radar," she added. 8 8 The experience highlighted just how easily rare conditions like MELAS are missed or misdiagnosed, especially in adults. In January and February 2020, Jake was back in hospital with stroke-like episodes, a common but terrifying complication of MELAS. 'Each time, I wondered if this would be the one that takes something from us permanently,' said Cami. But Jake never gave up. In 2021, he returned to university and earned a master's degree in education. They moved to Arizona, and he started working as a teacher. 'Starting all over again' For the first time since his diagnosis, it felt like things were settling. Then, in October 2022, they bought their first home. 'We were so proud,' Cami recalled. 'It felt like we were building something solid again.' But just one week after moving in, Jake suffered a major stroke that impaired his speech. 'I can't put into words what it's like to watch the person you love struggle to speak,' she says. 'I knew he was still Jake, but I also knew we were starting all over again.' It took Jake two years of recovery and rehabilitation to regain his speech and strength. Today he's back working as an attorney, and he and Cami now share their story on TikTok to raise awareness of MELAS and support others navigating chronic illness. Their TikTok page, has become a place of education, vulnerability, and hope. In one emotional clip, Jake thanked viewers for their support. 'We didn't expect this kind of response, and we're genuinely grateful,' he said. 'It's been incredibly hard to come to terms with having MELAS. Every day is a balancing act, managing my health while trying to live a full life.' What is MELAS syndrome? MELAS syndrome is a rare genetic condition that affects how the body produces energy. The name stands for mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes. It's caused by faults in mitochondrial DNA, the tiny energy factories inside cells, which are passed down from the mother. The condition can lead to stroke-like episodes, seizures, memory loss, dementia, muscle weakness, hearing loss, and short stature. Symptoms often appear after normal early childhood development and can also include frequent headaches, learning difficulties, and nerve damage. Doctors usually diagnose MELAS using brain scans that show unusual stroke-like damage, blood tests revealing high lactic acid levels, and muscle biopsies showing signs called 'ragged red fibers.' There's no cure, but treatment helps manage individual symptoms and improve quality of life. Treatment varies between people depending on what their symptoms are. Source: National Orgainsation for Rare Disorders 'You never know what's coming next' The couple frequently answer questions from followers, especially about MELAS being hereditary. 'It is maternally inherited,' says Cami explained. 'But we've been told any children we may have won't be affected.' More than anything, Cami and Jake want others in similar situations, particularly young couples, to know they're not alone. 'If your partner has a medical condition, you learn quickly that love is more than romance," she said. "It's about being in the trenches together." "Love so hard," she added. "Never go to bed angry. Be grateful, even on the hard days. Because you never know what's coming next.' 8
BreakingNews.ie
42 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Some Supervalu and Tesco salad products recalled after Listeria detected
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has recalled some salad products after Listeria was found. It comes days after an outbreak of listeriosis led to the death of one person and forced hundreds of products to be pulled from the shelves of popular supermarkets like Tesco, Supervalu, and Centra. Advertisement Shops have been told to remove seven product lines of salad leaves, produced by McCormack Family Farms, from shelves. The recalled products are: McCormack Family Farms Energise Super Mix; McCormack Family Farms Irish Spinach Leaves; McCormack Family Farms Mixed Leaves; McCormack Family Farms Baby Leaves; Tesco Mild Spinach; Egan's Irish Baby Spinach; SuperValu Spinach bag (Unwashed). Last week, more than 200 product lines of ready meals, by a different manufacturer, were recalled after the same bacteria was detected. Symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes infection can include mild flu-like symptoms, or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. In rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications. Some people are more vulnerable to Listeria monocytogenes infections, including pregnant women, babies, and people with weakened immune systems, including the elderly. The incubation period (time between initial infection and first symptoms appearing) is on average three weeks but can range between three and 70 days.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Horrifying ancient meal loved by Neanderthals is a dieter's dream – but would YOU eat sickening dish?
NEANDERTHALS may have feasted on maggot-infested meat as a core part of their diet, according to a new study. But the pungent delicacy was more than simply "starvation rations", said Melanie Beasley, assistant professor of anthropology at Purdue University, Indiana. 2 A number of Indigenous communities have viewed putrefied - or fermented - meat as highly desirable. It is easier to digest, meaning the body can better and more quickly absorb nutrients without cooking. Experts have long known that Neanderthals - our extinct human ancestor - were omnivores, eating meat and vegetables like most modern people. But chemical signatures found in Neanderthal remains suggest they ate as much meat as lions. Analysis of their bones found too much nitrogen than what a classic omnivore would have. But hominins simply cannot tolerate eating the high levels of protein that large predators can. When humans eat as much protein as Earth's apex predators – or hypercarnivores – over long periods of time, without consuming enough other nutrients they can develop protein poisoning. Also known as "rabbit starvation", protein poisoning can lead to malnutrition and death. Research from Beasley and her team suggests that Neanderthals had a hidden delicacy: maggots. Similar to the historical diets of some indigenous communities, Neanderthals too may have dined on decaying meat. Stunningly lifelike face of 75,000-year-old Neanderthal woman in her 40s recreated after 'best-preserved' skull found It is this that would have boosted their internal nitrogen levels to hypercarnivore-levels, according to the study. Maggots, which are fly larvae, can be a fat-rich source of food. They are unavoidable after you kill another animal, easily collectible in large numbers and nutritionally beneficial. Melanie Beasley, assistant professor of anthropology at Purdue University, Indiana "We suspected that maggots could have been a different potential source of enriched nitrogen-15 in the Neanderthal diet," Beasley explained in a recent article published in The Conversation. "Maggots, which are fly larvae, can be a fat-rich source of food. "They are unavoidable after you kill another animal, easily collectible in large numbers and nutritionally beneficial." Beasley and her colleagues used data from a forensic anthropology project focused on how nitrogen might help estimate time since death to investigate the possibility. "I had originally collected modern muscle tissue samples and associated maggots at the Forensic Anthropology Center at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, to understand how nitrogen values change during decomposition after death," she said. "While the data can assist modern forensic death investigations, in our current study we repurposed it to test a very different hypothesis. "We found that stable nitrogen isotope values increase modestly as muscle tissue decomposes, ranging from -0.6 permil to 7.7 permil." The researchers found that maggots found in dried, frozen or cached animal foods would have inflated the nitrogen levels in ancient humans during the Late Pleistocene era. Research shows that [nitrogen-15] values are higher for cooked foods, putrid muscle tissue from terrestrial and aquatic species, and, with our study, for fly larvae feeding on decaying tissue. "Neanderthals' cultural practices, similar to those of Indigenous peoples, might be the answer to the mystery of their high [nitrogen-15] values. "Ancient hominins were butchering, storing, preserving, cooking and cultivating a variety of items. "All these practices enriched their paleo menu with foods in forms that nonhominin carnivores do not consume. "Research shows that [nitrogen-15] values are higher for cooked foods, putrid muscle tissue from terrestrial and aquatic species, and, with our study, for fly larvae feeding on decaying tissue." Although maggots may not solely explain the lion-like nitrogen levels in Neanderthals, according to the researchers. It is still unclear how many maggots an ancient human would need to eat to account for so much nitrogen. More research is needed on changes in nitrogen-15 values of foods processed, stored and cooked following Indigenous traditional practices to "help us better understand the dietary practices of our ancient relatives," said Beasley. 2
