On June 28th, GCCA, along with other members of the Food and Beverage Issue Alliance met with FDA Commissioner Robert Califf. The meeting came in response to a letter sent by FBIA members, including GCCA, raising concerns about FDA’s current structure and governance for food programs. The letter calls on Commissioner Califf to unify the FDA food program under a deputy commissioner for foods, with accountability to the commissioner and direct line authority over the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), and the food-related components and operations of the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA). The letter asserts that in addition to bringing focused leadership and accountability to the FDA’s food program internally, a unified structure and a full-time senior leader will strengthen the program’s standing externally and its ability to be in effective dialogue with its many stakeholders. The meeting with Califf resulted in a productive discussion about the future of food programs in the agency.
