Jim Jones, the head of the food division in the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), resigned on Monday, citing widespread layoffs that he said would make it difficult to implement changes sought by the Trump administration.
He departed months after leading the agency’s effort to ban the food dye Red No. 3.
“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 in his resignation letter to Acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner.
However, he argued that the new administration’s “disdain for the very people” needed to achieve those goals made it “fruitless for me to continue in this role.”
Jones pointed to the layoffs of 89 staff members in the food division, calling the cuts “indiscriminate.” Among those dismissed were employees with “highly technical expertise in nutrition, infant formula, food safety response,” according to his letter.
Additionally, ten of the laid-off staffers were responsible for reviewing potentially unsafe ingredients in food.
The White House defended the changes, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stating that some “bureaucrats” were resistant to the “mandate delivered by the American people.”
“President Trump is only interested in the best and most qualified people who are also willing to implement his America First Agenda on behalf of the American people,” she said in an email. “It’s not for everyone, and that’s okay.”
The FDA did not respond to a request for comment. Food Fix was the first to report Jones’s resignation.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy was sworn in last week, but the FDA still lacks a confirmed leader. The agency’s food division has been expected to focus on chemical ingredients in the food supply, an issue Kennedy has publicly emphasized. However, Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, described the recent layoffs as “disjointed and disruptive.”
Jones’s resignation drew concern from public health advocates. “In addition to his wide-ranging expertise on toxic chemicals, nutrition and public health, Jim Jones brought integrity to his role overseeing the safety of the food we eat,” said Sarah Vogel, senior vice president of healthy communities at the Environmental Defense Fund.
Scott Faber, senior vice president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, warned that Jones’s exit would “set back efforts to make food safer.” He added, “There is no one on earth who can replace the chemical safety expertise that Jim brought to this job.”
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