Former FDA Chief Wants the Agency to Focus on Refined Carbohydrates

Former FDA Commissioner David Kessler, MD, says his citizen's petition to the FDA to remove refined carbohydrates from the market unless the food industry can show they're safe is "remarkably simple."

"Diet is the primary culprit behind this epidemic of chronic disease and metabolic harm," he told MedPage Today in a phone interview. "And these refined carbohydrates, these ultraprocessed foods, these are the main drivers."

Kessler, who is a professor of pediatrics, epidemiology, and biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco, served as commissioner under presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Kessler's petition, filed on Aug. 6, requests that the FDA:

Declare that it no longer considers use of certain processed refined carbohydrates to be generally recognized