Opening of the Symposium
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 | 8:00 – 9:40 a.m.
Session Co-Chairs:
- Connie Weaver, PhD, San Diego State University, USA
- Roger Clemens, DrPh, USC School of Pharmacy, USA
Speakers and presentations:
9:10 – 9:40 a.m.
Keynote Presentation: The Ongoing Evolution of the FDA Human Foods Program
- Mark Hartman, Director of Office of Food Chemical Safety, Dietary Supplements and Innovation, FDA, USA
The Ongoing Evolution of the FDA Human Foods Program
In October 2024, the US FDA undertook the largest reorganization of the foods program in its long history. That reorganization brought renewed focus onto microbiology, nutrition and food chemical safety supported by a network of laboratories and a number of common functional offices all under the leadership of the Deputy Commissioner of Foods. The changes brought by the reorganization and recent administration changes bring both challenges and opportunities for the Human Food Program with a long term vision of supporting public health including reducing chronic disease. Collectively, this vision is summarized as Make America Healthy Again.
Mark Hartman is the Director of the Office of Food Chemical Safety, Dietary Supplements, and Innovation. Mark has 33 years of experience working on chemical risk assessment and risk management issues in the federal government, spending the last 27 years at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Most recently, Mark served as Deputy Director of the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics where he was responsible for administering the implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) with an emphasis on oversight of the post-market chemicals prioritization, risk evaluation and risk management programs. Prior to this role, Mark served in multiple leadership positions in the Office of Pesticide Programs overseeing pre- and post-market risk assessment and regulatory work for biological/biotech, conventional and antimicrobial pesticides. He holds master’s degrees from George Washington University and Syracuse University.