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A Food Safety News publisher says he has submitted two citizen petitions asking FDA for greater disclosure of information tied to food safety investigations. The supplied report argues that identifying companies and locations in outbreak communications would fulfill the agency’s stated commitment to transparency; the petitions’ precise requests and FDA’s response are not included in the available source material.
A Food Safety News publisher says he has submitted two citizen petitions asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to disclose more information in food safety cases, including details that can identify companies and outbreak locations. The request puts the agency’s public commitments to “radical transparency” against its practice of withholding some identifying information, a gap that can leave consumers with limited information during outbreaks and recalls.
In a publisher’s platform published by Food Safety News, the author says the petitions ask for actions the federal government has previously taken, publicly supported or, as of October 26, 2026, had not been told by the Department of Justice it lacked authority to take. The supplied report does not provide the petitions’ full text, filing dates or specific proposed regulatory language, so their exact scope cannot be independently summarized from the material available here.
The author focuses on FDA’s Executive Incident Summary abstracts, introduced in September 2025 for closed outbreak investigations. He describes the summaries as a step forward but says they can omit information the public needs, including the names of companies involved and the states where patients lived. The report cites coverage of a mango outbreak summary and a fatal Listeria investigation as examples of information it says was withheld.
The platform also recounts that Stop Foodborne Illness petitioned FDA in February to stop treating company names as confidential. According to the author, FDA responded that the names were protected by the Trade Secrets Act. He characterizes that as the agency’s understanding of the legal issue at the time and says the question now has an answer, but the provided text does not include that answer, the petitions’ legal analysis or a DOJ opinion. The claim that FDA has authority should therefore be understood as the author’s position, not as a legal conclusion established by the material supplied.
Why Outbreak Identifiers Matter
When an outbreak notice omits a company, brand or location, consumers may have difficulty determining whether a product in their home is connected to an investigation. More detail can also help retailers, food businesses and local officials respond to a potential risk. The author’s argument is that transparency is not only a public-relations promise: it affects how people use information while an investigation is under way or after it has been closed.
There is also a competing concern: disclosure can involve confidential business information and legal restrictions. The platform says FDA cited the Trade Secrets Act in response to the earlier petition. The petitions’ practical importance will depend on what information they ask the agency to release, how FDA interprets its legal obligations, and whether disclosure can be made without revealing information that the law protects.
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FDA’s Transparency Commitments
The author traces the phrase “radical transparency” to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 2025 commitments. At his January 29, 2025, Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing, Kennedy said the department should tell Americans when it does not know something. In a February address to HHS staff, he linked transparency to informed consent.
HHS and FDA later applied the language to food. A March 10, 2025, HHS announcement about the self-affirmed GRAS pathway said the agencies were committed to transparency so Americans could know what is in their food. In July, FDA’s food program used the phrase in a letter to food industry leaders about recall communications. In September, FDA launched its outbreak abstracts, describing the initiative as part of its transparency commitment.
The leadership has since changed, according to the report: Marty Makary resigned in May 2026, and food-program leader Kyle Diamantas became acting FDA commissioner. The report says President Donald Trump nominated Heidi Overton for commissioner in August. These changes make the petitions a test of whether written agency commitments carry through under new leadership.
““At the FDA, we believe that radical transparency in food safety and nutrition actions is key to reducing foodborne illness and chronic disease.””
— FDA, in a July 9, 2025, letter to food industry leaders, as quoted in the Food Safety News report
The Petitions’ Scope and Legal Basis
The supplied report excerpt does not include the full text of either petition, the agency’s formal response, or evidence that FDA has agreed to change its disclosure practices. It also does not show the legal authority the author says answers the Trade Secrets Act question. The assertion that the Department of Justice had not told HHS or FDA it lacked authority by October 26 is not the same as a formal DOJ determination that the requested disclosures are lawful.
The report mentions a September romaine E. coli investigation and an October outbreak involving chicken wraps, saying the public did not initially learn certain source or brand details from federal agencies. The excerpt ends before completing its account of the chicken-wrap investigation. Its references to those cases, including the author’s representation of plaintiffs in the outbreak, should be read with that limitation in mind.
FDA Response Will Set the Next Step
The next observable development is whether FDA formally accepts, denies or otherwise responds to the two citizen petitions. The source material does not give a response deadline, an agency decision or a scheduled hearing. Until FDA acts, the requests remain proposals rather than changes to agency policy.
Any decision would need to address the information sought and the legal basis for releasing it. Readers should watch for the petitions’ full text and FDA’s written response, which would clarify whether the agency plans to identify companies, brands or outbreak locations in future communications, and whether any disclosure would apply to closed investigations, active outbreaks or both.
Key Questions
What is the publisher asking FDA to do?
The author says he filed two citizen petitions seeking greater disclosure in food safety matters. The report focuses on identifying details in outbreak summaries, but the supplied excerpt does not set out the petitions’ full requests.
Has FDA agreed to disclose company names?
No agreement is reported. The petitions are requests, and the source material does not include a formal FDA decision on them.
Why has FDA withheld some identifying information?
According to the author, FDA told Stop Foodborne Illness that company names were protected by the Trade Secrets Act. The excerpt does not include FDA’s full explanation or the petitions’ legal response.
What information does the publisher say is missing?
He points to details such as company names and the states where outbreak patients lived in some FDA summaries. The exact information requested in each petition is not available in the supplied text.
What happens next?
FDA would need to respond to the petitions. The source gives no decision date or response deadline, and it does not report that the agency has changed its disclosure policy.
Source: foodsafetynews.com
