The FDA’s new Human Foods Program is recruiting startup talent to help Jim Jones

What needs to happen for the Human Foods Program (HFP) to come to life, now scheduled for October 1 this year? Some recruiting is certainly needed, because Jim Jones, who joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September 2023 as the agency’s first deputy commissioner for human nutrition, can’t do this alone.

Jones is responsible for establishing a unified Human Foods Program (HFP) and assembling the new HFP team.

The FDA is focused on transforming the agency to be more efficient, agile and ready for the future with the ever-changing and complex industries it regulates, including the emergence of new food technologies, the impacts of globalization, climate change and other factors. that require the FDA to quickly adapt to an evolving world.

In January 2023, the FDA announced that it would develop a reorganization proposal to create a unified Human Foods program and restructure its field operations (Office of Regulatory Affairs), after careful review of the findings and recommendations of an external review by the Reagan-Udall Foundation.

The FDA completed the proposed reorganization package in December 2023. After going through a formal external review process required for all federal reorganizations, the FDA received approval of the reorganization package in May 2024. The reorganization is now considered final and the FDA plans to implement the reorganization package. reorganization on October 1, 2024.

This August, the FDA is recruiting for some of the top jobs in the Human Foods Program. They include a “Super Office Director” for HFP’s Office of Food Chemical Safety and Dietary Supplements and Innovation. A “Super Office Director” is also being recruited for HFP’s Office of Microbiological Food Safety. Other “Super Office Directors” are needed to fill the Office of Laboratory Operations and Applied Science, the Office of Compliance and Enforcement, the Office of Policy and International Engagement, and the Nutrition Center of Excellence.

These recruits will transform the now approved reorganization from a paper exercise to a reality. Creating a unified Human Foods Program (HFP), adopting a new model for its field operations, and other major modernization efforts are among the most significant changes at the FDA that will occur in decades.

With implementation of the reorganization just weeks away, it will specifically enhance the FDA’s ability to oversee and protect the human food supply and other products it regulates.

The new HFP reports a “continued need for qualified individuals with backgrounds in biology, microbiology, chemistry, toxicology and other health-related sciences, data science, food safety, nutrition, health policy, health communications and regulatory consulting, as well as other professional and administrative fields.”

The reorganization establishes the HFP by realigning the functions of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), the Office of Food Policy and Response (OFPR), and the key functions of the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA). to take. .

In addition to the HFP listings, CFSAN opportunities are listed until October 1, 2024.

YOUPursuant to the 21st Century Cures Act, effective December 13, 2016, and section 3072 thereof, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs has the authority to appoint and determine the annual rate of pay for outstanding and qualified candidates for scientific, technical or professional functions that support the development, assessment and regulation of medical products.

The FY23 Food and Drug Omnibus Reform Act expanded this authority and further amended Title 21 to include cross-cutting operational positions and individuals who support the development, evaluation, and regulation of food, cosmetics, and medical products (codified in United Nations Title 21). State Code (21 US Code 379d-3a).

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