FDA Names Jim Jones as First Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods

On August 23, James “Jim” Jones was named as FDA’s first-ever deputy commissioner of the Human Foods Program, effective September 24, 2023. In this role, Jones will report directly to Robert M. Califf, MD, FDA commissioner, and exercise decision-making authority over all the program’s entities.

As part of the newly created position, Jones is charged with setting and advancing priorities for a proposed unified Human Foods Program, which could include food safety, chemical safety, and innovative food products that will bolster the resilience of the U.S. food. He will also lead efforts on nutrition to help reduce diet-related diseases and improve health equity.

Jones has more than three decades of experience in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), stakeholder community, and private industry dealing with challenges related to chemical safety and environmental sustainability. His work has primarily focused on diminishing the impact that chemicals and pollution have on the U.S. food supply. While at EPA, Jones was instrumental in the 2016 overhaul of the Toxic Substances Control Act, the first update of that statute in more than four decades. He also was responsible for decision making related to regulation of pesticides and commercial chemicals.

Jones was also a member of the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s independent panel of experts that submitted an evaluation of FDA’s Human Foods Program in December 2022, so he’s chiefly aware of FDA’s challenges and opportunities as it aims to unify the program.

“I had the pleasure of serving on the expert panel that provided operational recommendations for the FDA’s foods-related activities, and I now look forward to helping the agency realize its vision for the proposed Human Foods Program, including carrying out important nutrition initiatives to improve the health of our country,” Jones said in a prepared statement. “As a former pesticide regulator, I have a deep understanding of the unique needs of government programs involved in upholding safety of the U.S. food supply, as well as the important role that the agriculture community and state partners play in this paradigm.”

Mike Taylor, former FDA deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine and a board member emeritus of STOP Foodborne Illness, says Jones is the perfect choice for this critical role. “Commissioner Califf’s important organizational changes in FDA’s Human Food Program and full empowerment of the deputy commissioner make needed, unifying change possible, in the public health interest of America’s consumers and in the interest of the food system on which we all rely,” Taylor tells Food Quality & Safety. “Jim brings the vision and collaborative leadership style needed to make that change happen.”