Weekly Newsletter | June 8, 2023
Food & Nutrition

DGAC Publishes Scientific Questions and Draft Protocols 
The scientific questions and draft protocols are now available for the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) development process. During the DGAC's second public meeting, the Committee presented draft protocols for most of the scientific questions, which are now available for public review. The public is encouraged to submit comments on the protocols by June 30, 2023. The next public meeting will be held on September 13, with an opportunity for oral comment.

FDA Appoints CFSAN and OFPR Acting Directors 
FDA appointed Donald Prater to serve as Acting Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) following the retirement of Susan Mayne on May 31, 2023. Prater previously served as Acting Director of the Office of Food Policy and Response (OFPR) and as Associate Commissioner for Imported Food Safety, among other food safety positions. Additionally, Suzanne Roosen, currently serving as Director of Resource Planning and Strategic Management at OFPR, will now serve as OFPR's Acting Director. Roosen previously served as FDA’s Budget Formulation Director, among other positions across the agency. Prater and Roosen’s tenure began on June 1, 2023.

President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition to Host First Public Meeting 
Registration is now open to attend the first public meeting of the Biden-Harris Administration’s President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition on June 27, 2023, from 1:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST. The meeting will feature discussions from the elected Council members on priorities for the remainder of the Council’s term. The Council members were nominated by President Biden to serve on the Council in March 2023, and the Council’s Co-chairs, José Andrés and Elena Delle Donne, were appointed in March 2022. The Council serves as a federal advisory committee that aims to engage, educate, and empower individuals to adopt a healthy lifestyle that 'includes regular physical activity and good nutrition.'

Tufts University Announces New Food as Medicine Initiative
Dariush Mozaffarian, former Dean at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, will assume a new leadership position at Tufts where he will build a new Food is Medicine cross-school initiative. He will be replaced by Christina Economos who was appointed as the new Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University effective July 1, 2023. In his new role, Mozaffarian will leverage the research, education, patient care, and community sectors to advance the Food is Medicine movement. Tufts plans to formally launch and provide further details about the initiative this fall.
Food Safety

FAO and WHO Celebrate World Food Safety Day 
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are hosting a series of health talks in celebration of the fifth World Food Safety Day (WFSD) held on June 7, 2023, through June 6-9, 2023. This year’s theme, “Food Standards Save Lives,” aims to inspire action to help prevent, detect, and manage foodborne risks, contributing to food security, human health, economic prosperity, agricultural production, market access, tourism, and sustainable development.

FDA Publishes Webpage on International Food Safety Equivalence 
FDA published a new web page that provides information on the food safety equivalence process to determine whether a foreign regulatory counterpart’s food safety controls achieve at least the same level of public health protection as measures required by U.S. law. The web page outlines how equivalence is determined, the current equivalence determinations, and how regulatory authorities can submit a formal request for equivalence for FDA-regulated food products. FDA has been engaged in equivalence discussions on grade A dairy with Canada, the European Union, and New Zealand, as well as on shellfish with New Zealand.
Agriculture

USDA ARS Launches Salmonella Grand Challenge
The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) launched a new initiative, the Salmonella Grand Challenge. The initiative established a group of 18 ARS scientists, representing eight fields of expertise and six national program areas, to integrate their research to learn more about Salmonella risks to meat and poultry products. This research will help the challenge team develop enhanced monitoring tools for meat and poultry producers, enabling them to proactively mitigate Salmonella issues within their operations and prevent Salmonella contamination.
Global

Italy Approves ‘Made in Italy’ Origin Label 
The Italian government has approved a bill that includes a series of proposals aimed to promote and protect Italian products. The ‘Made in Italy’ legislation would help enhance the country's global competitiveness, protect and promote authentic Italian products, and safeguard traditional artisanal practices. Additionally, the bill emphasizes the Italian government's support for the NutrInform Battery front-of-package (FOP) labeling system, as an alternative to Nutri-Score, as the Italian government believes the NutriScore unfairly discriminates against certain food products such as cheese, specialist hams, and olive oil.

Fun Fact: There are over 1,000 different varieties of bananas, but the most commonly consumed type is the Cavendish banana.