Trump Administration Report Urges Review of Microplastics, PFAS In Children's Health Strategy
President Donald Trump's administration's Make America Healthy Again Commission released a report Sept. 9 outlining a strategy to improve children's health, calling for policy changes and new evaluations of risks and exposures from microplastics, PFAS and food additives.
The 20-page report highlighted a range of public health concerns for federal agencies to address, including cumulative exposure across chemical classes, the potential root causes of autism, vaccine injuries, water and air quality, microplastics and synthetic chemicals, nutrition, chronic disease prevention, pediatric ADHD and diabetes, and the role of artificial intelligence in health care.
The Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency, plans to complete evaluations of "the risks and exposures of microplastics and synthetics, including in common products such as textiles," the report said.
"We're also investigating the health effects of substances, including microplastics, fluoride and PFAS," said Jim O'Neill, deputy secretary of Health and Human Services. "Several childhood cancers have rising incidence among American children, likely due to changes in diet and the environment."
U.S. manufacturers expressed concern that the administration's proposals are "based on faulty information and misguided science," and could lead to overly burdensome regulations that do not improve consumer safety, said Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers.
"Manufacturers share the administration's goals of safeguarding Americans' health and safety," Timmons said. "In light of this administration's exceptional track record in driving a rebalanced regulatory agenda to strengthen manufacturing and benefit consumers, the commission's strategy report is a shocking misstep.
"If implemented, the strategy would harm manufacturers across the country and the consumers who benefit from an efficient, healthy and cost-effective supply chain," he said. "It also would add to the compliance burden that the administration has made so many strides to unwind."
Timmons said U.S. manufacturers face nearly $350 million in annual compliance costs — capital, he said, "that manufacturers would much rather invest in their facilities, their employees, their products — and this administration has been a key partner in alleviating that burden."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to update its recommendations regarding fluoride and PFAS in drinking water based on new scientific reviews by NIH and EPA.
In July, EPA canceled $15 million in federally funded studies on how PFAS from pesticides and other contaminants are ending up in farmland. The report did not identify new funding sources for water testing.
The strategy also calls for reforms to dietary guidelines and increased scrutiny of petroleum-based food dyes.
The Department of Agriculture and HHS will develop research and policies "to support domestic agriculture production of plants used as natural color sources," the report said. The Food and Drug Administration will continue expediting its review of color additive petitions for natural sources and may offer greater flexibility for labels using "no artificial color" and similar claims.
FDA will also continue post-market reviews of food additives, including colorants, substances generally recognized as safe (GRAS), food-contact materials like packaging, and unintentional contaminants.
By "closing the GRAS loophole," the administration said it aims to increase transparency around substances used in the U.S. food supply.
EPA also plans to evaluate high-dose liquid drop and tablet supplements marketed for children and remove unsafe products from the market.
The administration is additionally working toward a government-wide definition of "ultra-processed food" to support future research and policy development.