The Trump administration delays the requirement for companies to follow contaminated food

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that it would delay a requirement by 30 months that food and grocers quickly retrace food contaminated by the supply chain and remove it from the shelves.

Intended to “limit disease and death transmitted by food”, the rule required that companies and individuals maintain better recordings to identify where food is cultivated, wrapped, transformed or manufactured. He was to enter into force in January 2026 as part of a historic food security law adopted in 2011, and was advanced during the first term of President Trump.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health, expressed his interest in chemical security in food, to prohibit food dyes and to start a public database on Thursday where people can follow toxins in food. But other actions during the first months of the Trump administration underestimated efforts to fight against bacteria and other contaminants in foods that have hurt people. Administration discounts included the closure of the work of a key food security committee and freezing on credit card expenditure of scientists with routine tests to detect pathogens in food.

There have been several high -level epidemics in recent years, including cases last year linked to the deadly listeria in Boar and E. coli in the onions on McDonald’s Quarter Poutters.

Thursday, the postponement recruited alarms from certain defense organizations.

“This decision is extremely disappointing and puts consumers at risk of falling sick with dangerous food because a small industry segment has been pressure for 15 years to prepare,” said Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, a defense group.

Many retailers have already taken the measures to comply with the rule. However, the trade groups against the food industry were pressure to delay the implementation of the rule in December, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In a letter to President Trump in December, food manufacturers and other business trade groups have cited a number of regulations which, according to them, “strangle our economy”. They asked that the dietary traceability rule be readjusted and delayed.

“This is a huge step back for food security,” said Sarah Sorsher, director of regulatory affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a defense group. “What is so surprising is that it was a bipartite rule.”

Ms. Soroucher said there was a broad support for measure, as he would protect consumers and businesses, which could limit damage, reputation damage and the cost of a food reminder with a high -tech supply chain.