Miami attorney on tap to lead FDA foods program, including food safety efforts

An attorney with a multinational law firm in Miami is expected to be the next deputy commissioner for human foods at the FDA.

Kyle Diamantas has been with the law firm Jones Day since July 2021. He earned a bachelor’s degree in prelaw political science at the University of Central Florida in 2010 and a law degree from the University of Florida in 2013.

The Trump Administration will name Diamantas to the nation’s top food post, according to reports from Bloomberg News.

The Food and Drug Administration has not released any statements about the appointment. The agency has authority over about 80 percent of America’s food supply, including food safety and security. 

Former Deputy of Human Foods Jim Jones resigned Monday citing staff firings by the Trump Administration. Almost 90 people in the foods program were let go. Jones said he had been looking forward to working with the new Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to make the American food supply even safer than it is. However, in his resignation letter Jones said that the “indiscriminate” firings made it clear that such work would not be possible, calling such efforts “fruitless.”

One of Jones’ key areas of expertise was chemical additives, which he had done extensive work with while at the Environmental Protection Agency. Food additives, specifically chemical additives, is one of Kennedy’s main points of interest. Earlier this year Jones oversaw the banning of the food dye Red No. 3, one of the most notorious food additives under fire by food activists.

In his letter of resignation, Jones said firing food staff, including 10 who worked specifically on food additive safety, would make it more difficult for Kennedy to implement his goals.

As the new deputy of human foods, Diamantas is expected to work closely with Kennedy on the secretary’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) campaign.

Vani Hari, one of the top leaders of the MAHA movement told Food Fix that Diamantas is “in lockstep with Secretary Kennedy” and that he understands the urgency of food issues such as the need to address food additives.

Although he apparently does not have any direct experience with food safety, Hari said Diamantas has “a lot of big food contacts.” In November Diamantas was part of a team that wrote about a post-market safety assessment the FDA had set up to review chemicals in food.

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