HHS, FDA Announce Multiple Initiatives on Food Safety, Quality and Compliance Fronts

On May 9, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted three color additive petitions, approving two new colorings and expanding one existing approval. These approvals come after the agency’s announcement last month to phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes in food by the end of 2026 and transition to natural alternatives (see our post here). Under section 721 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), color additives (unless exempt from batch certification) are subject to FDA approval to determine their safety for use in food. The agency evaluates the safety of color additives based on multiple factors including projected human dietary exposure to the additive, toxicological data, and other relevant information. Once FDA approves a color additive petition, any manufacturer can use the additive in foods for the approved intended uses.

In the last two weeks, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has filled key artificial intelligence (AI) positions at HHS and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These appointments, as well as recent statements from HHS and FDA leadership, align with the Trump administration’s intention to use AI to improve regulatory efficiency at HHS and beyond.

This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced a series of new measures to phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes in food by the end of 2026. This initiative is part of the broader “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda aimed at bolstering food safety. Citing growing concerns about the potential role of petroleum-based food dyes in childhood diabetes, obesity, depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the agency plans to establish a national standard and timeline for the food industry to transition to natural alternatives.

On April 10, 2025, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its plan to replace animal testing in the development of monoclonal antibody therapies and other drugs in one of the first announcements by the agency since Commissioner Makary was confirmed to lead it. In its announcement, FDA highlighted that this more modern approach is designed to improve drug safety and accelerate the evaluation process, while also reducing animal experimentation, lowering research and development costs, and lowering drug prices.

On March 31, 2025, Judge Sean D. Jordan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued an opinion and judgment in American Clinical Laboratory Association v. FDA. Judge Jordan’s decision vacates and sets aside the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) final rule, Medical Devices; Laboratory Developed Tests (the LDT Rule).¹ The LDT Rule would have required laboratories offering LDTs to meet medical device requirements. The preamble to the LDT Rule provided a multi-stage phase out of FDA’s enforcement discretion policy, under which the first set of regulatory requirements would have been actively enforced beginning May 6. While many labs are breathing a sigh of relief after the publication of this order, questions remain as to how the agency will proceed and the broader implications for regulation of lab tests and in vitro diagnostics generally.

In the past week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced three new initiatives related to food safety and food supply chain transparency. Outlined below, these new initiatives align with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent announcements to focus on bolstering food safety, including the recent directive to the FDA to explore the revision of the longstanding Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) rule.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated its website to provide new information on data integrity concerns relating to medical devices.

United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kennedy recently directed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider rulemaking to revise its longstanding regulations and guidance governing the oversight of food ingredients to eliminate the ability of individuals and companies to self-affirm that their ingredients are Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). This would mark a massive shift in how new food ingredients are introduced to the market.