FDA names safety vet acting head of food

Food Dive reported the development on 2026-05-18. Donald Prater will lead the Human Foods Program and replace Kyle Diamantas, who is taking over as department commissioner.

The report places the news in a wider commercial context. The FDA promoted longtime policy vet Donald Prater to acting deputy commissioner of the department's Human Foods Program, which is responsible for overseeing 80% of the U.S. food supply. Prater has more than 26 years experience with the FDA, according to his LinkedIn profile, and was most recently the Human Foods Program's principal deputy associate commissioner.

For the food sector, the practical implications extend beyond the immediate announcement. He replaces Kyle Diamantas, who was tapped to lead the entire agency following the resignation of Marty Makary. Prater is taking over as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. pushes to "clean up the food supply" with efforts to overhaul the ingredient evaluation process and move the industry away from artificial dyes.

Attention now turns to how companies, customers and regulators respond. Previously, Prater led the Center for Food Safety and Acting Nutrition and helped oversee its transition into the Human Foods Program as part of a department-wide restructuring in 2024. He also helped lead the department's imported food safety programs and was at one point was the director of the FDA’s Europe Office.