HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met with food industry leaders and the Consumer Brands Association on Monday, with the goal of advancing food safety in America.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met with food industry leaders on Monday for a roundtable discussion in Washington, D.C.
Representatives from Kraft Heinz, General Mills, Tyson Foods, WK Kellogg Co, The J.M. Smucker Company and PepsiCo, along with Consumer Brands, all were present at the meeting.
Sec. Kennedy announced the meeting on X, posting, “Great discussion today … advancing food safety and radical transparency to protect the health of all Americans, especially our children.”
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“We will strengthen consumer trust by getting toxins out of our food. Let’s Make America Healthy Again,” his post added.
Melissa Hockstad, Consumer Brands Association president and CEO, also issued a statement announcing the meeting at HHS.
“Today, industry leaders met with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to discuss his Make America Healthy Again agenda and working together to maintain consumer access to safe, affordable and convenient product choices,” said Hockstad, whose organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
“It was a constructive conversation,” she added. “And we look forward to continued engagement with the secretary and the qualified experts within HHS to support public health, build consumer trust and promote consumer choice.”
While the specific topics of discussion have not been confirmed, the food industry as a whole has been a target of RFK Jr.’s ever since the initial launch of his presidential campaign.
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“Food Babe” and Truvani founder Vani Hari told Fox News Digital on Monday that bringing everyone together is “the first step to any realistic change.”
“Bringing [the food industry’s] biggest lobbying firm with them, the Consumer Brands Association … they’re going to be ready to recommend some of these changes, because they can’t stop the state legislation that’s happening across the board,” predicted Hari, who is based in North Carolina.
“We have 30 different states looking at legislation,” she added.
West Virginia recently passed statewide legislation banning food dyes and preservatives.
The preservatives butylated hydroxyanisole and propylparaben — as well as dyes Blue No. 1 and 2, Green No. 3, Red No. 3 and 40, and Yellow No. 5 and 6 — all will be banned once the bill is signed by Gov. Patrick Morrisey, according to the state legislature.
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In February, the Arizona House of Representatives passed the Arizona Healthy Schools Act, which bans ultra-processed foods that contain harmful additives from being served in public school meals, as Fox News Digital previously reported.
Hari said she hopes that Americans, while they’re grocery shopping, pick one-ingredient products and peruse the middle aisles of the stores with strong scrutiny.
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“You want to avoid things you don’t recognize, chemical names that you know aren’t real food, because that’s a massive experiment to your body,” she said.
MAHA influencer and cancer survivor Liana Werner-Gray, based in Florida, told Fox News Digital the meeting is a critical step toward addressing the root causes of chronic disease in America.
“The overuse of harmful food additives, artificial dyes, inflammatory seed oils and glyphosate contamination has contributed to rising health issues, including obesity, diabetes, cancer and behavioral disorders,” she said.
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“It’s time for major food companies to prioritize public health over profit by embracing real, whole-food ingredients. Consumers are demanding change, and the industry must listen,” Werner-Gray added.
Fox News Digital reached out to HHS for comment.
Peter Burke of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.
