This past election cycle, Americans voted strongly in favor of radical transparency when it comes to their food, and to Make America Healthy Again. Voters expressed a desire to know more about what is in their food and where it comes from. Rightfully so. A new study last month showed that, in 2024, hospitalizations and deaths from contaminated food doubled with recalls for Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli surging by 41%. Many of these outbreaks went unsolved, were solved too slowly, or their root causes were never determined because of a lack of better food traceability.
As the former Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and former Vice President of Food Safety at Walmart, I know first-hand how important it is to know where foods come from. Improved food supply chain visibility helps prevent unnecessary illnesses and deaths. It also allows food companies to run more efficient supply chains, deliver the freshest food products, reduce food waste, and provide real-time insights to deal with supply chain friction or snarls.
That’s why FDA’s recent decision to delay the compliance date for their Food Traceability Rule by a period of 30 months is so troubling.
First, the Food Traceability Rule was initially developed during the first Trump Administration, and it was set to take effect early next year. The rule, which builds on fourteen years of bipartisan cooperation, requires producers, distributors and retailers of certain foods to keep better records of what they handle and where it comes from, so it's easy to quickly remove contaminated food from the market. The newly appointed US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. noted in his confirmation hearings that “the Food Traceability Rule is an important part of implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act” and he’s said many times he is committed to “radical transparency” when it comes to food. One would assume a commitment to “radical transparency” would include letting American consumers know where their food comes from.
Second, hundreds of major food producers, distributors, and retailers (such as Sysco, Walmart, Kroger, Target, Whole Foods, Chick-fil-A, BJs Wholesale and more) have all already published plans to comply with the new standards set forth under the Food Traceability Rule. Notably, Kroger announced last year it would track traceability data for all foods, not just those on the FDA’s list, and aim for compliance six months ahead of schedule.
Moreover, last year, a Harris poll reflected that a majority of U.S. adults — more than half of 2,088 poll respondents — opposed efforts that would narrow the scope or delay enforcement of the Food Traceability Rule. Data indicated maintaining the Food Traceability Rule’s compliance date was the will of the people.
This is why the recent FDA decision is so puzzling and disturbing.
Where the industry needed more time for select food companies or commodities to comply, the FDA had better leadership options to choose from than delaying compliance by 30 months. They could have allowed for a slight extension or granted enforcement discretion where and if necessary, as it would have incentivized continued progress and placed the interest of consumers first – rather than granting such a long delay.
Unfortunately, the leadership decision made will likely disincentivize the pace of progress. It will also allow foodborne outbreaks to continue to go on for far too long resulting in preventable illnesses and deaths, and overly broad food recalls, which are costly to society and erode consumer trust in food.
The optics of this decision are also poor, as it suggests more of the same swamp-like tactics used in the past. The decision ignored that the rule was directed by Congress in a bipartisan manner and created via an open, transparent, and democratic process. The delay suggests the interests of a few industry trade groups and lobbyist were weighed more heavily than those of our real bosses – the American consumer.
Lastly, the decision seems inconsistent with the new administration’s mandate of radical transparency, protecting the public, Making America Healthy Again, and knowing where foods come from and whether or not they’re truly Made in America.
Public health decisions, like this one, have real-world consequences. Fortunately, many food companies are already implementing food traceability capabilities – not because it’s a regulatory requirement – but because their customers are demanding it, they know it allows them to sell safer food, and the value it brings to their business.
Thank goodness for food businesses who not only want to do things right, but they also want to do the right things.
By Frank Yiannas, MPH, Former Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response, US Food and Drug Administration