Addressing Structural and Governance Issues at the FDA

The importance of FDA’s mission cannot be overstated. The CPG industry wants and needs the FDA to be successful.

The CPG industry depends on FDA to perform its regulatory role effectively, efficiently and transparently. In order to elevate and strengthen FDA’s role in supporting the CPG industry in meeting consumer demands and expectations and innovating for enhanced safety and environmental quality in the decades ahead, changes must be made.

Initial Challenges Our Campaign Asked the FDA to Address:

The consequences of inaction at FDA are not hypothetical, but real issues the team at Consumer Brands hears about from the 2,000 brands it represents every day. The dominant themes that emerged from countless conversations included:

The split and siloed food program undercuts communication and collaboration at the expense of efficiency and responsiveness.
Inefficient decision-making slows reviews, hinders progress and even renders innovation obsolete.
Inspector turnover and retirements makes it difficult to keep a well-trained, experienced FDA workforce.

“We are pleased by FDA’s announcement of Jim Jones as the newly appointed Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods. Jones embodies the management qualifications the industry and stakeholders have been asking for to ensure FDA can properly deliver on its mission of protecting consumer health and safety. We commend Commissioner Califf on this hire and are encouraged that this is a step toward modernizing the agency so it can move at the speed of the consumer.”

Read more here.

“Consumer Brands supports a Human Foods Program overhaul that will allow the FDA to move at the speed of the consumer. We are pleased the FDA is taking bolder action to make meaningful and lasting change by answering informed industry and stakeholder calls to unite and elevate the Human Foods Program and fully authorize the deputy commissioner with control over its strategic direction. This includes complete authority over the budget, as well as the responsibility to execute a common mission throughout all components, including the animal foods program. We are also encouraged that the FDA plans to address areas of duplication and refocus the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) on its core business, inspections and investigations. Consumer Brands will remain engaged as this important process proceeds and the search for a new Foods Program leader continues. We thank Commissioner Califf for taking another significant and necessary step toward transforming the agency into one that is properly equipped to ensure consumer safety and meet rapidly evolving consumer demand.”