FDA appoints EPA veteran to build new Human Foods Program

The FDA has recently named James “Jim” Jones to serve as the first deputy commissioner for the Human Foods Program, a new unified program within the agency that will be tasked with addressing food safety, chemical safety, food product innovations and agtech, according to a news release.

The Human Foods Program launch is one response to recent pressure for reform, including a critical Reagan-Udall Foundation report issued December 2022 that urged changes in the FDA. Jones, who has more than three decades of leadership and regulatory experience with the EPA, was a member of the foundation's expert panel that called for the formation of the very organization that he will now lead, according to the release.

Jones contributions on the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s Independent Expert Panel for Foods makes him intimately knowledgeable and uniquely equipped to address agency’s challenges, opportunities and recent reform recommendations, the release said.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to serve as the first deputy commissioner for Human Foods at the FDA. I had the pleasure of serving on the expert panel that provided operational recommendations for the FDA’s foods-related activities, and I now look forward to helping the agency realize its vision for the proposed Human Foods Program, including carrying out important nutrition initiatives to improve the health of our country,” Jones said in the release.

He will begin his new role Sept. 24 and report to FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf. Jones will lead initiatives within the Human Foods Program that “bolster the resilience of the U.S. food supply in the face of climate change and globalization, as well as nutrition to help reduce diet-related diseases and improve health equity," the release said.

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Leadership for the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, as well as the Office of Food Policy and Response, will report to Jones until the Human Foods Program reorganization is implemented, according to the release.  

“Our proposed reorganization is the largest undertaking of its kind in recent history for our agency. I’m confident that under Jim’s leadership, we will build a stronger organization that will be integrated with other components of the FDA and focused on keeping the foods we regulate safe and nutritious, while ensuring the agency remains on the cutting edge of the latest advancements in food science and nutrition,” Califf said in the release.

Early reactions from produce industry leaders

International Fresh Produce Associations Chief Food Safety and Regulatory Officer Natalie Dyenson applauded the FDA’s selection of Jones.

“On behalf of our members, IFPA is thrilled with the appointment of Jim Jones as deputy commissioner, Human Foods Program. The industry needs a deputy commissioner who has the experience to address transformational change and ability to lead this culture shift within the agency,” Dyenson said in a press statement. “We have long advocated for the importance of having a unified Human Foods Program with a single point of accountability for food safety and program leader who can and will elevate the importance of foods within FDA.

“We look forward to collaborating with the new deputy commissioner in a meaningful way as he works towards focusing on risk-based prevention strategies as part of a consistent and coordinated agenda for the agency,” she continued.

De Ann Davis, Western Growers' senior vice president of science, also shared support for Jones.

"Western Growers is pleased to learn that Jim Jones has been appointed as the first deputy commissioner for the Human Foods Program by the Food and Drug Administration,” she said in a statement. “Jim has a proven record of government leadership, as evidenced by his work on the critical Reagan-Udall Foundation expert panel resulting in the December 2022 report on Operational Evaluation of the FDA's Human Foods Program."

Davis is hopeful that the new program will lead to a more prevention-focused strategy.

“In 2011, with the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act, the intent of the U.S. Congress was clear: The FDA is to prioritize preventative actions over reaction," she said. "We look forward to engaging with Jim as we collaborate on the critical need for the agency to deliver on its promises to aid consumers by setting a prevention agenda."

Track record of service

In Jones’ more than 30 years at the EPA, he managed teams and provided strategic planning on issues related to chemical safety and environmental sustainability, the release said.

“As a former pesticide regulator, I have a deep understanding of the unique needs of government programs involved in upholding safety of the U.S. food supply, as well as the important role that the agriculture community and state partners play in this paradigm. I am honored to serve the FDA and the country in this new capacity,” Jones said in the release.

Not only was he in integral part of the Toxic Substances Control Act at the EPA, but his work has largely focused on lessening the effect that pollution and chemicals have on the U.S. food supply, according to the release.

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He also led sustainability programs such as the EPA’s Environmental Preferable Purchasing Program and the Presidential Green Chemistry Awards Challenge, and he made decisions on pesticides and commercial chemical regulations. Jones holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Maryland, according to the release.

To learn more about the Human Food Programs and the reorganization at the FDA, watch a video from the agency.