Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Considers Banning BHA, An Additive In Many Processed Foods
NBC News: FDA Moves To Ban BHA — An Additive Used In Processed Foods Such As Meats And Bread
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday took steps toward banning BHA, a food additive used in processed foods such as meats and bread. BHA, or butylated hydroxyanisole, has been used in the food supply for decades. The FDA first listed it as “generally recognized as safe” in 1958 and approved it as a food additive in 1961. It’s used to prevent fats and oils in food from spoiling and can show up in products such as frozen meals, breakfast cereals, cookies, ice cream and some meat products. The agency said it’s launching a new safety review of the chemical, pointing to long-standing concerns that the food additive might cause cancer in humans. (Lovelace Jr., 2/10)
More MAHA news —
CNN: Over 70% Of Tested Baby Foods Are Ultraprocessed And Full Of Additives
The vast majority of baby foods, drinks and snacks sold in the United States for children ages 6 months to 36 months are ultraprocessed and may contain additives increasingly linked to potential health harms, a new study found. (LaMotte, 2/11)
Stat: New Food Pyramid Website Has A Chatbot Skeptical Of Its Own Content
How trustworthy is the new U.S. food pyramid? It’s a mixed bag, according to the government website devoted to that pyramid. Kyle Diamantas, head of the Human Foods Program at the Food and Drug Administration, alerted the public this week to a generative artificial intelligence tool added to the government’s “transformational” realfood.gov site. The tool, with a headline “Use AI to get real answers about real food,” features “AI integration to provide parents and consumers with clear and concise answers at the click of a button,” Diamantas wrote on X. (Todd, 2/10)
The Washington Post: RFK Jr.’s Surgeon General Pick Challenges The Medical Mainstream
Casey Means, President Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, left her prestigious surgical residency more than seven years ago. (Weber and Roubein, 2/9)
More health news from the Trump administration —
AP: Trump To Gut US Climate Change Policy And Environmental Regulations
The Trump administration on Thursday will revoke a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the White House announced. The Environmental Protection Agency will issue a final rule rescinding a 2009 government declaration known as the endangerment finding. That Obama-era policy determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. (Daly, 2/10)
ProPublica: Forest Service Took Years To Address PFAS In Wildland Firefighter Gear
Officials at the U.S. Forest Service knew gear worn by wildland firefighters contained potentially dangerous “forever chemicals” years before the agency publicly acknowledged the issue, according to internal correspondence obtained by ProPublica. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, have been linked to negative health impacts, including certain cancers and delayed development in children. For years, PFAS chemicals were commonly used to treat the heavy gear worn by municipal firefighters to help it repel water and oil. (Streep, 2/10)
MedPage Today: Here's How Many Jobs HHS Has Lost Since RFK Jr. Took Over
Since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took the helm of HHS last February, his department has shed more than 17,000 jobs, according to data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). MedPage Today created this data visualization using the OPM's new federal workforce data website, which it launched in January. The OPM website touts that 242,260 federal employees have left since Jan. 20, 2025, the day President Donald Trump took office. (Fiore and Booth, 2/10)
On the immigration crisis in Minnesota —
The New York Times: ‘No Reason He Should Have Died’: Alex Pretti’s Parents Open Up
In their first sit-down interview, Michael and Susan Pretti avoided recriminations and recalled the son that Michael called “an exceptionally kind, caring man.” (Healy, 2/10)
Minnesota Public Radio: Twin Cities Health Care Workers Describe 'Fear,' 'Intimidation' Due To ICE In Hospitals
As L finishes her workday at Hennepin County Medical Center in downtown Minneapolis and makes her way to the parking lot where her car is, she cannot shake the fear that someone might grab her and take her away. She also detects this same tension among other HCMC staff members who tell her they are afraid to come to or leave work. (Zurek, 2/11)
