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One issue that RFK Jr. and his critics agree on 

February 19, 2025
February 19, 2025
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Morning Rounds Writer and Podcast Producer
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the maha diagnosis

Can RFK Jr. close this key loophole on food additives?

Photo illustration: Christine Kao/STAT; Photo: Adobe

As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. takes over as HHS secretary, one of his specific targets is an exemption that's long allowed food manufacturers to introduce new additives without first getting approval from the FDA. The loophole, known as "generally recognized as safe," or GRAS, has long been criticized by MAHA folks and their opponents alike. 

"The whole point of having the FDA Human Foods Program is to protect our foods and make sure the chemicals in our food are safe," said Thomas Galligan, a scientist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which opposed Kennedy's nomination. "The FDA abdicated its responsibility and handed it over to industry."

But the consensus that this loophole needs to be closed doesn't mean it's an easy task. Read more from STAT's Sarah Todd and Lizzy Lawrence about the history of GRAS and what stronger oversight could look like.

politics

An exit interview with the FDA's former top food official

In a strikingly candid interview, the former head of the FDA's food division said yesterday that he resigned from the job because the Trump administration's cuts imperil the agenda set forth by RFK Jr. 

"I, personally, and the organization were very excited about the agenda that Secretary Kennedy has articulated for foods, in particular around nutrition and food chemical safety," Jim Jones said to STAT's Matt Herper. "I'm not sure if it's a lack of understanding of how things get done, or it's that there's really no seriousness about what they want to get done." Read more about the early actions that Jones takes issue with.

first opinion

Two more public health experts speak out

STAT published two First Opinion essays yesterday arguing about the importance of government programs at risk under Trump's continued cuts:

  • Former CDC director Tom Frieden wrote about two programs that may be on the chopping block: the Public Health Associate Program and Laboratory Leadership Service. "Their elimination is shortsighted and risks public safety at a time when the nation's ability to detect and contain health threats, including H5N1 avian influenza, is already strained," Frieden writes. Read more.
  • Former CDC epidemic intelligence service officer Denis Nash commented on the apparent reversal of Trump's plan to cut the EIS program over the weekend. For decades, the program has been a cornerstone of the CDC's ability to investigate and control disease outbreaks. The future of the program remains unclear, but cutting off the pipeline of these talented scientists "would represent an erosion of CDC's future scientific workforce and leadership, and a retreat from the public health infrastructure that has helped protect the U.S. for generations," Nash writes. Read more.  

reproductive health

The ripple effect of abortion bans

Since Roe v. Wade was struck down, there's been an influx of people living in states with abortion bans traveling to other states to receive that care. But it's been harder to understand how that travel affects abortion care for residents of the states without bans. A study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open looked at how the influx of patients traveling from states like Texas has delayed care for Colorado residents seeking abortions. 

The percentage of abortions in Colorado provided to out-of-state residents increased from 13% to 30% between 2020 and 2023, the study found. During the same period, there was an increase in later abortions for Colorado residents, who were 83% more likely to have the procedure in the second trimester than they were before SB8, the Texas ban on abortion after six weeks, was implemented.

The study authors note that the number of Texans traveling to Colorado for abortions has decreased (though not back to its previous baseline) and the number of residents getting second trimester abortions receded in 2024. They point to telehealth, self-managed abortion, and care in other states as potential alleviating factors. 

But the future of interstate abortions is uncertain. Last week, a judge fined a New York doctor and ordered her to stop sending abortion pills to Texas, the New York Times reported. The case will likely go to the Supreme Court. 

politics

Trump signs an executive order on IVF

President Trump signed an executive order yesterday "expanding access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) for Americans," according to a fact sheet posted on the White House website. The fact sheet only states that the aim is  generally to lower costs and increase access to IVF. It does not include specific policy recommendations, but says out-of-pocket and health plan costs for the treatment need to be reduced. 

During the election, Trump declared himself the "father of IVF," though it was unclear what he meant by that. "The Order recognizes the importance of family formation and that our Nation's public policy must make it easier for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children," the fact sheet says. Read more from the AP.

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What we're reading

  • Want to change your personality? Have a baby, Atlantic 

  • Uganda discharges the last Ebola patients. No new deaths from the contagious virus reported, AP
  • She's trying to stay ahead of Alzheimer's, in a race to the death, New York Times
  • FDA's head of device safety among employees terminated in 'challenging' weekend, STAT

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