The Congressional Dads Caucus is demanding answers from Food and Drug Administration commissioner Robert Califf about what the agency is doing to guarantee food safety for young children and ensure snacks like applesauce are not being tainted as was the case last year.
Back in 2023, the FDA recalled applesauce pouches after at least 22 toddlers in 14 states were sickened by lead linked to tainted pouches of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce. The latest report from the CDC says that as of last month, over 500 cases of lead poisoning have been reported to local health departments across the country, including Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.
Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., reached out to the FDA for answers following an investigation by the New York Times on the matter, and while Gomez says his staff did meet with the FDA, they “didn’t find those answers satisfactory.” A new letter released Wednesday signed by 31 members of the Dads caucus, demands more clarity.
“We wanted to make a more formal inquiry by sending a letter from the Dads Caucus with individual Dads Caucus members signed on to ask a few things: one, where do they see the room for improvement?” said Gomez in an interview with Spectrum News. “We understand that they're asking for more money, they’re asking for more authority. But we want to see how is that going to impact the ability of the FDA to find food with lead in it, especially when it comes to our children? So we're asking them to answer a series of questions that we can get a formal response to, and then we can see what steps we take from there.”
The letter’s three questions to Califf include:
What steps are being taken to address food contamination by heavy metals, and what guarantees do you have for the public that such incidents won’t happen again?
What is the level of funding necessary for the FDA to achieve its food safety mandates?
How does the agency propose to utilize any new authorities and make concrete changes to ensure the safety of the food products consumed by our families?
“If we find the answers unsatisfactory, or that they don't provide enough details, we will ask for a hearing,” said Gomez. “But we'll also try to figure out what else we can do as individual members. We will maybe introduce legislation to get the FDA's attention.”
“I think when it comes to protecting our food supply, protecting the food that children, especially babies, consume, that's critical. So all options are on the table.”
The FDA told Spectrum News that it received the letter and "will respond directly to the Congressional Dads Caucus."