Jim Jones, the previous head of the Meals and Drug Administration’s meals division, resigned on Monday, citing the mass firings of company workers.
In line with a duplicate of his resignation letter considered by The Hill, Jones stated the “indiscriminate firing” of 89 workers in his division would undermine the agenda championed by newly confirmed Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“I was looking forward to working to pursue the Department’s agenda of improving the health of Americans by reducing diet-related chronic disease and risks from chemicals in food,” Jones wrote. However he stated it might be “fruitless” to proceed in his position because of the Trump administration’s “disdain for the very people necessary to implement” that agenda.
“The indiscriminate firing of 89 staff in the Human Foods Program is beyond short sighted,” Jones added. “Their termination will be one more roadblock to achieving the Secretary’s stated objectives of making America healthy again.”
In his letter, Jones stated that the workers members laid off “represent the future of the agency.”
The FDA press workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Jones’s resignation was first reported Monday by the meals trade e-newsletter Meals Repair.
Whereas defending the company agenda, Jones additionally singled out Kennedy’s continued assertions that the FDA is corrupt and too beholden to company particular pursuits.
“The Secretary’s comments impugning the integrity of the food staff, asserting they are corrupt based on falsities is a disservice to everyone,” Jones wrote.
He famous that the meals program is over 99 p.c funded by congressional appropriations, not trade person charges.
Jones joined FDA in 2022 following a recall of toddler components that led to a nationwide scarcity. He most just lately oversaw a ban on the Purple No. 3 dye in meals, which got here within the waning days of the Biden administration.
Scott Faber, senior vice chairman of presidency affairs on the Environmental Working Group advocacy group, stated Jones’s resignation “is a huge step backward for the FDA and the safety of our food.”
“If the administration is truly committed to making America healthier, the administration should rescind cuts to food safety staff and plead with Jim to return to the FDA to finish the work he started,” Faber stated in a press release.
