FDA revamping foods program to move past ‘constant turmoil’

In this Aug. 2, 2018, file photo, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) building is visible behind FDA logos at a bus stop on the agency's campus in Silver Spring, Md. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Jacquelyn Martin / Jacquelyn Martin

The head of the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced an overhaul of the agency’s food safety and nutrition division, vowing that a new structure will better protect consumers and the U.S. food supply.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said he would create a new human foods program led by a deputy commissioner with authority over policy, strategy and regulatory activities for the part of the agency that oversees 80% of the foods Americans eat.

“This is one of the most important changes in the history of the FDA,” Califf said in an interview.