Marking its 120th year as an agency, the FDA has unveiled its first-ever official agency seal and released the 2026 Human Foods Program (HFP) priority deliverables based on a three-pillar model: microbiological safety, chemicals, and nutrition.
New FDA Seal Reflects Changing Public Health Mission
The new seal includes a snake-entwined staff symbolizing medicine, a badge signifying enforcement and protection, an eagle representing the US and its people, and the Latin phrase “ad salutem publican tuendam” reflecting the agency’s mission to Protect the Public Health. The seal is also intended to signify the public health strides made over the decades, inspire more powerful outcomes to make Americans safer and healthier, and affirm public trust in the agency.
Priority Food Safety Deliverables
FDA 2026 Human Foods Program Priorities
That symbolic transformation is accompanied by changes being sought in the HFP 2026 priority deliverables which the agency states as signaling “a transformation in how HFP fulfills its mission to protect and enhance public health.”
To facilitate a risk-management approach, the deliverables are centered around three main areas where the agency sees the greatest risk and opportunity for both public health and HFP impact:
- Ensure chemicals in food are safe: Improve the safety of food ingredients through initiatives such as systematically reviewing and, where appropriate, banning additives from the food supply.
- Reduce diet-related chronic disease: Increase nutrition by increasing transparency and consumer information and availability (e.g., front-of-package nutrition labeling, Operation Stork Speed).
- Prevent foodborne disease: Enhance the microbiological safety of food through such actions as advancing strategies and best practices for preventing contamination in human foods, leveraging state oversight, and improving transparency of FDA’s regulatory and enforcement decisions.
Within each of these, the HFP will follow a circular process beginning with “signals and surveillance” to understand the risks; then working through risk prioritization and management based on eight key actions (shown in the center of the graphic below); and finally monitoring progress and evaluating the impacts.
FDA 2026 Food Safety and Labeling Guidance
Along with these priority deliverables, FDA also published the annual list of possible new or revised guidance documents being considered for 2026. Among these are three that FDA considers to be the most impactful to public health:
- Establishing action levels for cadmium and inorganic arsenic in infant and young children’s foods, plus issuing guidance on preventive controls for chemical hazards.
- Issuing guidance to assist industry in implementing effective sanitation controls consistent with the Preventive Controls for Human Food rule.
- Issuing guidance to assist with food labeling for online grocery store platforms.
FDA Seeks Input on Food Ingredient and Allergen Labeling
Another food labeling initiative FDA has announced is that of improving label disclosure of food ingredients, particular those that impact health conditions, such as gluten and allergens. As a first step, the agency issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking comments on adverse reactions due to non-wheat gluten-containing grains (rye and barley) and oats (related to cross-contact) and on labeling issues or concerns with identifying these “ingredients of interest” on packaged food products.
Comment is particularly requested on prevalence of products where rye or barley are not currently disclosed; information on the severity and potency of immunoglobulin E-mediated food allergy to rye and barley; concerns around the gluten content of oats due to cross-contact; and other questions related to these issues. The experiences and data received are intended to help guide the agency in increasing transparency and improving related policies.
While there may not be much new in this announcement from FDA, it is gratifying to see the agency focus on three important and topical issues – chemicals, chronic disease, and foodborne illness. FDA is further emphasizing the importance of cleaning and sanitation which continues to be a root cause for many regulatory situations and recalls. If you need help to determine your risks, call TAG.
