Food safety takes a back seat to trade in the Trump administration

Despite the USDA’s reassurance that the Under Secretary for Food Safety will still chair Codex meetings, the move of the little-known but influential office is a mistake.  The administration has not yet even nominated a permanent Under Secretary for Food Safety.  And at a time when other key USDA offices are being populated by country club cabana attendants, pesticide lobbyists, and other unqualified political campaign operatives, the Codex office’s move is more troubling still.