Whatever we’re paying him, it’s too much
The NYT published an article reporting that RFK Jr has abandoned most of his responsibilities:
“Mr. Kennedy has shown little interest in managing the details of work in his department, according to multiple colleagues,” Sheryl Gay Stolberg wrote in the article. “Instead, they say, he is single-mindedly focused on his top priorities, including food recommendations and pesticide exposures, and hunting for evidence to support his long-held beliefs that vaccines are harmful.“
Not exactly news. Kennedy’s rebuttal?
“All one needs to refute your argument is to glance at my publicly available calendar and to review my unprecedented list of accomplishments on a wide range of issues, all of which I drove,” Kennedy wrote.”
LOL! His “accomplishments” are (a) the firings and resignations of health research experts at the CDC, FDA and NIH and (b) sowing distrust in scientific expertise while replacing sound science with magical thinking. Whatever we’re paying him, it’s way too much. Unless the job, like in the rest of the Trump administration, is just to create chaos.
RFK Jr creates chaos
“Mr. Kennedy has shown little interest in managing the details of work in his department, according to multiple colleagues,” Sheryl Gay Stolberg wrote in the article. “Instead, they say, he is single-mindedly focused on his top priorities, including food recommendations and pesticide exposures, and hunting for evidence to support his long-held beliefs that vaccines are harmful.“
Not exactly news. Kennedy’s rebuttal?
“All one needs to refute your argument is to glance at my publicly available calendar and to review my unprecedented list of accomplishments on a wide range of issues, all of which I drove,” Kennedy wrote.”
LOL! His “accomplishments” are (a) the firings and resignations of health research experts at the CDC, FDA and NIH and (b) sowing distrust in scientific expertise while replacing sound science with magical thinking. Whatever we’re paying him, it’s way too much. Unless the job, like in the rest of the Trump administration, is just to create chaos.
RFK Jr creates chaos
Meanwhile, Consumer Reports has been doing its job: “Of the 13 products tested for Red Dye No. 40, a petroleum-derived synthetic food coloring, five contained enough in a single serving to exceed the daily safety level for children identified by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA).
Considered more stringent than the FDA when it comes to assessing the risk of food dyes and additives, a 2021 OEHHA assessment found that synthetic food dyes are associated with “adverse neurobehavioral outcomes” in some children.
The researchers cited several products that exceeded safety thresholds by sizable margins, including Hostess’ Donettes Mini Powdered Donuts, which were found to contain 19 times the amount of glycidol considered safe for daily consumption according to California health officials. A serving of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies contained over nine times the safety threshold for the same chemical, according to the findings.”
https://www.thenewlede.org/2026/06/food-additives-dyes-health-concerns/
@John,
From your link: “None of the products tested exceeded current guidelines set by the US Food and Drug Administration . . .”
“did not exceed guidelines:” which means that they were not illegal, but necessarily harmless.
How much titanium oxide should our kids be exposed to in the donuts they eat? In this case, titanium oxide appears to be used to make donuts more appetizing…a totally frivolous reason for allowing an ingredient that has been banned in the EU!
John:
Instead of generalization, tell us what the limits should be. Here is what several international orgs. decided.
In 2023, the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) re-evaluated the safety of titanium dioxide. In its summary report: Disclaimer, JECFA concluded that TiO2 added to food is safe. Based on the available data (toxicological, biochemical, and other), the total daily intake of the substance does not represent a hazard to health.
The FDA is aware of the positions of other regulatory bodies regarding use of TiO2 as a color additive. The European Food Safety Agency’s (EFSA) 2021 Opinion confirmed there was no general toxicity to organs, as well as no effects on reproductive and developmental toxicity but noted that it could not rule out genotoxicity based on tests on TiO2 nanomaterials. Genotoxicity tests are commonly conducted to determine if a chemical can interact with or damage DNA, potentially causing cancer. Other international regulatory bodies including the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Disclaimer (FSA), Health Canada Disclaimer, and Food Standards Australia New Zeal External Disclaimer (FSANZ) have not agreed with EFSA’s assessment. FDA notes that some of the genotoxicity tests considered in the EFSA assessment included test materials not representative of the color additive, and some tests included administration routes not relevant to human dietary exposure. FDA did not identify concerns related to potential geno-toxicity based on the data available and noted that TiO2 did not cause cancer in National Toxicology Program (NTP) carcinogenicity studies.
“Color Additive Listing for Use of Titanium Dioxide in Food”
Do I want Titanium in my food? No. It appears what the limit is? Is safe for human consumption.
@John,
As any toxicologist or pharmacologist will tell you, the dose makes the poison. Things that are toxic in large doses can be harmless in small doses. Did you know there’s arsenic in your rice? Did you know there’s acrylamide in your baked goods?
Some sunlight is good for generating vitamin D. In large doses, sunlight causes sunburn and skin cancer. Low doses of Tylenol can give relief from headache; high doses can cause liver damage and death. Low doses of water can quench thirst; high doses can cause drowning.