The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that it will delay the requirement for food companies and grocery stores to rapidly track and pull contaminated food through their supply chains by 30 months.
The rule, which aimed to “limit food-borne illness and death,” required businesses and individuals to maintain a better record to identify where food was cultivated, packed, processed and produced. It is expected to come into effect in January 2026 as part of the groundbreaking food safety law passed in 2011, and progressed during President Trump's first term.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who expressed interest in food chemical safety, moved to ban food dyes, debuted a public database on Thursday where people can track toxins in food. However, other actions in the Trump administration's first months have undermined efforts to tackle the bacteria and other contaminants of diseased food. The administration cut its way through the company closed down jobs for major food safety commissions, frozen scientists' credit card spending, and routine testing was conducted to detect food pathogens.
In recent years, there have been several well-known outbreaks, including cases related to last year's fatal listeria of wild boar headmeat and E. coli in the onion of MacDonald's quarter pounders.
The postponement issued an alarm among several advocacy groups on Thursday.
“The decision is extremely disappointing and consumers are at risk of getting sick with unsafe foods as small segments of the industry are seeking delays despite their 15 years of preparation,” said Brian Ronholm, Food Policy Director for the Advocacy Group's Consumer Report.
Many retailers have already taken steps to adhere to the rules. Still, according to the Los Angeles Times, a food industry trade group was lobbying in December to delay the implementation of the rules.
In a letter to President Trump in December, food manufacturers and other corporate trade groups cited many regulations that they said were “strangled our economy.” They asked to reduce and delay food traceability rules.
“This is a huge step towards food safety,” said Sarah Sosher, director of regulatory affairs at the advocacy group, Science Center for the Public Interest. “The surprising thing about that is that this was a bipartisan rule.”
Sosher said there is widespread support for the measure to protect consumers and businesses.
