Food Safety Matters24 Jun 2025

Ep. 196. Dr. Lane Highbarger: How the FDA Workforce Cuts May Impact Food Safety

Lane Highbarger, Ph.D. worked for 26 years in the food additive regulatory and compliance field with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), serving as lead microbiologist in FDA's Office of Food Additive Safety (OFAS). He is also an expert in food additive regulations and served as the regulatory review scientist for regulatory submissions at OFAS. Dr. Highbarger holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and a B.S. degree in Microbiology, both from the University of Maryland.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Dr. Highbarger [23:58] about:

His previous work at FDA's Office of Food Additive Safety and how his area of work is important to food safety
His thoughts on what effect the Trump administration's FDA workforce cuts will have on the agency's ability to ensure safe food for consumers
What the future of chemical safety work looks like at FDA now, in light of the changes and FDA's newly established risk management "pillars"
His thoughts on FDA's approach to fast-tracking approval of new food dyes and chemicals so that other chemicals considered "harmful" can be phased out
What role he sees science playing in the new administration's approach to food safety policy.

News and Resources

California Bill Would Remove Ultra-Processed Foods from School Lunches [2:12]

ECDC: Europe Saw Record-High Levels of STEC and Listeria Infections in 2023 [9:21]

Research Reveals Drop in AMR Bacteria Levels During Poultry Processing [18:35]

STOP Foodborne Illness Opens Nominations for '40 Under 40' Program [22:16]

We Want to Hear from You!
Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@food-safety.com

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