Coalition Urges USDA to Reinstate Food Safety Advisory Committees

A coalition of consumer, industry and public health stakeholder groups sent a letter urging U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins two reinstate two longstanding U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) food safety advisory committees, the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) and the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI), which were terminated by the Trump administration March 6.

The letter pointed out NACMCF’s scientific guidance that led to the adoption of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, now the cornerstone for preventive food safety across industries.

“This has significantly reduced outbreaks linked to pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, protecting millions of American consumers annually,” read the letter. “Additionally, NACMCF’s guidance on pathogen testing protocols, microbial risk assessment, and microbiological standards has directly enhanced regulatory effectiveness and industry practices nationwide.”

The letter also lauded NACMPI for playing an instrumental role in strengthening inspection processes, leading to improvements in meat and poultry safety oversight.

“For example, its recommendations informed USDA’s regulatory updates on inspection modernization, significantly decreasing contamination rates in poultry products and driving down the incidence of foodborne illnesses,” read the letter. “NACMPI's input has also facilitated more streamlined federal-state inspection coordination, leading to more effective resource allocation and greater consumer protection.”

NACMCF was created in 1988 by recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations. It was established to provide impartial scientific advice and recommendations to the USDA and other government agencies on microbiological and public health issues related to food safety. 

NACMPI was established in 1971 to advise the Secretary of Agriculture on food safety policies, including those related to meat and poultry inspection, contributing to the USDA's regulatory policy development. 

“These advisory committees are comprised of volunteer representatives from across the stakeholder spectrum — industry, consumers, public health, academia — who provided impartial, scientific advice and recommendations to USDA, the FDA and the CDC,” said the letter. “According to one reference, the budget for NACMCF is $225,000 and NACMPI is $75,000, and the return on investment to the American taxpayer is enormous.”

The letter was signed by the following groups and organizations: Alliance for Recall Ready Communities; American Frozen Food Institute; Antibiotic Resistance Action Center (at GWU); Center for Environmental Health; Center for Food Safety; Center for Science in the Public Interest; Consumer Brands Association; Consumer Federation of America; Consumer Reports; Food & Water Watch; Food Animal Concerns Trust; Friends of the Earth; Government Accountability Project; Institute for Food Safety & Nutrition Security (at GWU); International Association for Food Protection; International Dairy Foods Association; National Consumers League; National Pasta Association; National Turkey Federation; NSF; Public Interest Research Group; Recall InfoLink; San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility; and STOP Foodborne Illness.

Food safety advocates Dr. Darin Detwiler, Bill Marler, Dr. Susan Mayne, Dr. Jennifer McEntire, Sharon Natanblut, Dr. Stephen Ostroff and Michael Taylor also signed.

Read the full letter here.