Robert F. Kennedy Jr. advocated for changes to FDA’s Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) process and limits on GLP-1 drugs, during his confirmation hearing for secretary of HHS in front of the US Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor & Pensions (HELP) on Jan. 30.
In his second Senate hearing, Kennedy recapped many of his arguments for a nutrition-based approach to address worsening US health crises and his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) platform from the previous hearing.
“All of these MAHA moms recognize that we now have a unique opportunity in history — where history now is at an inflection point, where we have a unique opportunity to reverse this epidemic, and we know what we have to do. We have to study the additives,” Kennedy said.
“We have to end the conflicts of interest on the nutrition panels and on the drug panels that are loaded with people who have corrupt entanglements with the industries they are supposed to regulate. They have turned these agencies into sock puppets for the industries they are supposed to regulate. We need somebody who can come in, who can break that inertia,” he added.
RFK Jr.: ‘Any new chemical is innocent until proven guilty’ with GRAS
Kennedy criticized the FDA’s approval of certain ingredients like Red No. 3 for use in foods and beverages but not for cosmetics through the GRAS process, following a line of questions from Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R- Ala., during the middle of the hearing.
GLP-1 drugs, the class of drugs, are miracle drugs, but I do not think they should be the first frontline intervention for 6-year-old kids for whom they are currently.
Robert F. Kennedy, nominee for secretary of HHS
Earlier in the month, the FDA rescinded its authorization of Red No. 3 based on animal studies showing the ingredient caused cancer in male rats and a legal technicality. However, former FDA Commissioner Jim Jones said in a Senate hearing that “the scientific consensus is that the mechanism of carcinogenicity in rats is not applicable in humans.”
“We have 10,000 ingredients in our food in this country because FDA employs a standard called the GRAS standard and looks at any new chemical as innocent until proven guilty. In Europe, they have 400 ingredients in their food,” Kennedy said.
“If you eat a McDonald’s French fry in this country, it has 11 ingredients. You eat the same ingredient the same product in Europe, it has three. But we are allowing these companies — because of their influence over this body — over our regulatory agencies to mass poison American children, and that is wrong. It needs to end, and I believe I’m the one person who is able to end it,” he added.
Are 6-year-olds taking Ozempic?
Kennedy signaled optimism on GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and WeGovy for treating obesity but pulled back on a full endorsement of the weight-loss drugs in response to questions from Sen. Andy Kim, R—NJ.
Many health experts are advocating for GLP-1 drugs to address the obesity epidemic in the US by curbing consumers' cravings. This has spawned a conversation and research on what widespread use of the drugs would mean for the food and beverage industry.
The National Center for Health Statistics — a sub-agency under HHS — reported that 40.3% of US adults were obese, based on data from August 2021 to August 2023. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts US childhood obesity at 19.3%, based on data from March 2017 to March 2020.
Kennedy responded by saying GLP-1 drugs can treat obesity, but the drugs “should not be prescribed alone without also prescriptions for exercise.”
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“GLP-1 drugs, the class of drugs, are miracle drugs, but I do not think they should be the first frontline intervention for 6-year-old kids for whom they are currently,” Kennedy said.
A randomized trial study on GLP-1 liraglutide in the New England Journal of Medicine showed the effectiveness of treating obesity in children aged 6 to 12 years. But, “no medications are currently approved for the treatment of nonmonogenic, nonsyndromic obesity in children younger than 12 years,” the report stated.
More than 60,000 people aged 12 to 25 years in the US were on GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, based on pharmacy data reported from January 2020 to December 2023 in JAMA.
RFK Jr.’s scientific credibility and department knowledge questioned
Throughout both hearings, senators grilled him over scientific credentials, having worked primarily as an environmental lawyer.
In his first Senate hearing, Kennedy appeared confused when Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va, referenced community health centers, which often play a crucial role in food as medicine programs providing access to nutrition resources. During the exchange, Kennedy asked Warner if the senator was referring to “Indian health centers.”
Ahead of the hearing, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) President Peter Lurie reaffirmed the center’s opposition to Kennedy’s appointment to the head of HHS for his “anti-scientific views and behaviors,” including “his belief that unpasteurized milk is safe to drink.”
Kennedy stated in a widely circulated X (formerly known as Twitter) post ahead of the election that “FDA’s war on public health is about to end. This includes its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything else that advances human health.”
Referred to as raw milk, unpasteurized milk “harbor dangerous germs that can pose serious health risks,” including salmonella, E. coli and listeria, the FDA reported. Drinking raw milk was linked to 2,645 illnesses and 228 hospitalizations from 1998 and 2018 according to the CDC.
RFK Jr.’s next step: Confirmation vote
With both confirmation hearings concluded, the Senate now can ask Kennedy questions outside the public hearings. A vote on RFK Jr.’s confirmation has not been set.
Despite being a controversial figure, Kennedy’s “confirmation seems likely, especially as he has walked back some of his earlier vaccine comments,” said Rend Al-Mondhiry, partner and co-chair of the regulatory group at Amin Wasserman Gurnani.
She added, “The MAHA message is also compelling and well-received especially for many in the industry.”