The Trump Administration Eliminated 2 Critical Food Safety Committees — Is Your Dinner Now at Risk?

The Trump administration has officially eliminated several food safety committees, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) and the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI). Both were cut through the Executive Order titled “Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy.” As the order stated, it eliminates offices and committees that the “President has determined are unnecessary.” 

“The termination of these two important advisory committees is very alarming and should serve as a warning to consumers that food safety will not be a priority at USDA in the foreseeable future,” Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, shared in a statement provided to Food & Wine. “These expert panels provide impartial scientific advice and recommendations to USDA, FDA, and the CDC on public health issues related to food safety in the U.S. The failure to recognize and leverage the value of this scientific expertise is dangerous and irresponsible.”

According to Food Safety magazine, prior to this elimination, the NACMCF had been working to develop guidance on addressing the increase in deadly foodborne illnesses. The committee was also recently tasked with reviewing the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Services’ (FSIS) “regulatory approach for Listeria monocytogenes, prompted by the fatal listeriosis outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meats,” which occurred in 2024. 

Food Safety also explained that the recent NACMPI meetings focused on “USDA-FSIS’ definitions for establishment sizes and use of inspection technology,” as well as how the FSIS could enhance its communications with “underserved communities” and “ensuring compliance with food safety regulations. 

The NACMCF notes on its website, which likely won’t be live for long, that it “provides impartial scientific advice and recommendations to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other government agencies on microbiological and public health issues relative to the safety of the U.S. food supply.” 

Food Safety magazine added that the NACMPI was established to advise the “Secretary of Agriculture on matters affecting federal and state inspection program activities.” The NACMPI website adds that the committee’s purpose was “to provide advice to the Secretary concerning meat, poultry, food safety and other matters that fall within the scope of the FMIA and PPIA.” The two committees would be advising the new Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, and the HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Members of each committee included scientists and researchers from various universities around the U.S., as well as members of Consumer Reports, the USDA, the Department of Defense, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The White House has yet to make a statement about these eliminations. However, Food & Wine was provided a copy of the email sent to members of the NACMCF by Dr. Kristal Southern, a scientific liaison with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service and the designated federal officer for one of its advisory groups, the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods.

It reads in part, “We are incredibly thankful for your contributions to NACMCF. Per the discussion today, we learned that NACMCF will be terminated, and all committee work will stop, effective immediately.” This, Southern noted, is due to the Executive Order Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy, which was signed by the President.

The email added that, effective immediately, any further work or recommendations by the committees are “prohibited,” and their permissions and access to the “National Agriculture Library Digitop System will be removed.”

“We are aware that stopping the work at this point means that the agencies may not receive the reports and recommendations that you all have been working on for the last year and a half,” Southern added. “Although committee work has been suspended at times, this is our first experience with a termination in the middle of a term. We are seeking guidance on if the drafts, as they are today, can still be provided to the respective agencies to use without referencing NACMCF.” 

Southern noted that this was not the decision they hoped for and that “it does not take away from the great contributions to food safety and public health that this committee has made. We are still working through the actions to complete the termination process and may not have all the answers, but we are happy to entertain any questions you may have.”

She added, “It TRULY has been an honor to work with and learn from each of you, and I hope you are very proud of your work.”