On October 30, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a set of priority deliverables for its Human Foods Program (HFP) for 2025. This follows significant structural changes to the program announced earlier on October 1, 2024 (FPF reported). These priorities include initiatives to enhance regulatory oversight of chemical safety, including both pre-market reviews and post-market assessments.
The agency plans to enhance the efficiency of pre-market reviews for substances used in food production and packaging. This involves streamlining processes for manufacturer submissions related to food contact substances.
To address chemicals already in use, the FDA intends to update its framework for post-market chemical assessments. This updated framework aims to identify substances prioritized for re-evaluation. The FDA anticipates completing the first post-market reviews in 2025, according to reporting from Chemical Watch on November 7, 2024. A public consultation on the post-market assessment program is open until January 21, 2025.
Another deliverable listed is a draft guidance for Preventive Controls for Human Food specific to Chemical Hazards. “The guidance is intended to help industry meet their responsibility to minimize or prevent hazards from contaminants and ensure the safety of chemicals they use.”
The HFP is also planning on modernizing its approaches. The Expanded Decision Tree (EDT), a tool for grouping chemicals based on their toxicological potential, is being reviewed by external scientists. Moreover, the agency intends to use artificial intelligence to improve the monitoring of new data on chemicals across the food supply chain.
References
U.S. FDA (October 30, 2024) “Human Food Program (HFP) FY 2025 priority deliverables.”
Sean Skulski (November 7, 2024) “US FDA sets out FY 2025 ‘priority deliverables’ for Human Foods Program.” Chemical Watch News & Insight
