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History of the Food Forum and Its Impact Over the Past 30 Years

The first session of the symposium featured a discussion on the Food Forum’s history, role, effects within the food system, and continued relevance. The discussion included four former forum chairs: Francis F. Busta, National Center for Food Protection and Defense (now Food Protection and Defense Institute); Fergus M. Clydesdale, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Michael P. Doyle, retired director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia; and Sylvia B. Rowe, SR Strategy. The session was moderated by the current forum chair, Eric A. Decker, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

EARLY YEARS

Decker began the discussion by soliciting insights on the importance of the forum in its initial years. Clydesdale remarked that the late 1980s and early 1990s were a transitional time in food science, production, nutrition, and regulation, with consumer activism becoming increasingly important during this period. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine created the forum to establish a public–private partnership capable of changing the food supply through collaboration with food producers and regulators. Convening representatives from academia, regulatory agencies, consumer policy, food production, food technology, and nutrition, the forum generates independent thinking and stimulates solutions, Clydesdale said.

Doyle noted a major disconnect in the early 1990s between the government and the food industry regarding food safety regulations and oversight.

He said the forum established a neutral setting for leaders in the food industry and in the federal government—specifically, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—to address these issues collaboratively.

CHAIR TENURE HIGHLIGHTS

Decker invited each former chair to share key events during their respective tenures leading the forum.

Rowe, who served as chair from 2015 to 2021, underscored the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic posed to the forum. Personal relationships and interactions are fundamental to the success of the forum’s role as a convening body, she said. Therefore, the forum had to determine how to continue its interactions and adapt its programming to virtual platforms, given the pandemic-related restrictions on travel and gathering. Additionally, Rowe stated, the pandemic accelerated and amplified numerous issues fundamental both to public dialogue and to groups participating in the forum. Such issues included food and nutrition security, obesity, the rise in noncommunicable diseases, and climate change, all of which involve social justice considerations. She added that, as issues facing the forum evolved and broadened, the forum diversified by including consumer groups as well as scientific and professional societies to maximize the knowledge and experience within the group.

Busta, the forum’s chair from 2011 to 2014, emphasized the key role of interaction in forum activities, which enables participants to discuss issues not typically addressed in open forums. Workshops during his tenure focused on topics including public–private partnerships; the influence of food on the human microbiome and on health; sustainable diets; and the relationships among the brain, the digestive system, and eating behavior. He noted that these workshops preceded much of the research activity and government regulations that would later address these issues.

Doyle, forum chair from 2003 to 2011, noted the role of the forum on FDA regulation regarding hazard analysis critical control points (HACCPs). When the forum was initiated, FDA required the food industry to apply an HACCP program to every food produced. During a meeting early in the forum’s history, Doyle stated, discussion regarding this requirement featured a debate between representatives from the food industry and FDA. A food company executive stressed that some foods, such as saltine crackers, do not pose hazards and thus do not require HACCP plans. Doyle said that this debate led FDA to conduct a hazard analysis on all foods and adjust HACCP rules to require plans only on foods that pose a hazard.

Clydesdale, forum chair from 1996 to 2002, highlighted the value that participants from FDA and USDA bring to the forum. He remarked

that spirited debate at forum meetings has stimulated actions such as FDA’s sponsorship of a keystone committee that finalized regulations on health claims.

ROLE IN THE FIELD

Decker asked the participants to discuss the role of the forum in policy, regulation, research, and scientific communications. Doyle reiterated that the shift in HACCP rule application was catalyzed by forum discussions. Clydesdale remarked on the powerful role of the forum in forging connections across science, production, regulation, research, communications, and policy to best meet the needs of consumers. He noted that the forum played a role in structure/function claims, which in turn led to front-of-package labeling that makes helpful information more accessible to consumers. Busta underscored that the forum does not make recommendations for regulations, but interactions at forum events have played a role in regulation. He said the forum offers academics a rare opportunity to discuss regulations, healthy foods, and healthy diets with representatives from industry and government, thereby providing academics an opportunity to inform policy. Rowe commented that the academic community has responded to research needs and gaps identified in forum dialogues. She added that in each topic of focus, the forum considers issues of equity, communications, and data—facets that are sometimes lost in broader discussions.

ROLE IN THE FUTURE

Regarding the role that the forum may play in the future, Busta emphasized that the current digital age minimizes personal, direct interactions; within this context, the forum is essential in providing opportunities for interaction, connection, problem-solving, idea sharing, and exposure to topics that participants may not have considered. Doyle remarked on the forum’s focus on food safety, nutrition, and related cutting-edge issues. For instance, he said, food safety concerns with fresh produce have yet to be fully addressed. The forum provides a unique, neutral setting in which leaders from regulatory agencies and academia can collaborate to address such issues. Rowe stated her optimism about the future of the forum, citing the need for public–private partnerships and highlighting the opportunities the forum provides. She commended the forum’s staff, whom she described as “committed and talented,” for enabling the interaction of forum members. Rowe continued, these transdisciplinary interactions—conducted in a neutral, safe environment—address the pressing need to collapse silos within the food system space. Clydesdale noted current partisanship within society and the need for cooperation to solve problems.

The forum provides opportunities for collaborative problem-solving within the milieu of partisanship, he observed. Clydesdale noted burgeoning issues that will require legislation, including food as medicine, artificial intelligence and precision nutrition, local farm production to temper climate change, gene editing to create produce that can withstand altered climates, and safe utilization of waste.

Decker concluded the discussion by acknowledging Richard L. Hall, who served as the first forum chair from 1992 to 1996 and played an instrumental role in creating a strong foundation for the forum’s three decades of activity. Hall passed away in 2019 at the age of 96.