Thread by @DrMayneFDAFood

Thank you @StrengthenFDA for hosting me today to talk about the FDA foods program FY 23 budget priorities to support healthy and safe food for every American. go.usa.gov/xuYM6

In my 8+ years as CFSAN director we’ve overhauled the nation’s food-safety system w/ #FSMA-publishing 8 foundational rules & 50+ guidances to transform the system to a prevention oriented framework. Work continues w/ our New Era for Food Safety blueprint. go.usa.gov/xugYF

We’ve implemented major nutrition initiatives- eliminating trans fat from the US food supply, updating our iconic Nutrition Facts label to give consumers important information about added sugars & provided industry voluntary targets to cut sodium in packaged & restaurant foods.

Consumers also have more nutrition and calorie information about foods consumed or ordered from outside the home. We’ve accomplished our nutrition work without any significant increases in resources.

We are extremely fortunate that Congress provided increases to several of our programs this year including $2M for our food additives work, $1.7M for New Era, $2M for dietary supplements, and $1.1M for infant formula review, among others.

Funds received this year are a strong down-payment for many of our initiatives, in FY23 we are looking to build on those investments & bridge resource gaps in our programs to ensure these not only keep pace with inflation but match growth & innovation in respective industries.

We are seeking an additional $33M for our work that houses our nutrition, Closer to Zero, and Emerging Chemical and Toxicological Issues; and an added $9.1M to implement New Era of Smarter Food Safety.

These resources will go a long way in modernizing our approach to food safety by improving prevention-oriented food safety practices, strengthening data sharing and predictive analytics capabilities, and enhancing traceability to respond to outbreaks more quickly.

Our nutrition work is critical. go.usa.gov/xugTY
A preliminary analysis bit.ly/3O80O3h came out this month that suggests life expectancy in the US is now five years lower than our peer countries, and nutrition is a significant contributor to chronic disease.

We have an opportunity to make a generational improvement on the nation’s nutrition and thus our life expectancy – and the resources we have requested in our FY23 budget are CRUCIAL for this work.