The FDA is proposing a major change in the way food manufacturers may be reporting the ingredients and substances introduced into the food supply.
According to a new rule proposed this week, food manufacturers would be required to notify the FDA when they have included a substance in human or animal food that the manufacturer has deemed to be safe, also known as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe).
The proposed rule, which will be open for public comments and debate through early December, will bring “greater transparency and oversight to substances added to the nation’s food supply,” according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Nearly two years ago, President Trump and I promised to take on big food, to overhaul outdated food regulations, to tell the American people the truth about what's in their food,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday.
RELATED STORY | Trump officials propose new scrutiny of food additives and ingredients
“Americans really expect that their government will know what’s in the food ingredients that industry is putting into our food supply, and is it safe?” said Susan Mayne, professor adjunct at the Yale School of Public Health.
Mayne was also the former director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition during both Democratic and Republican administrations. She said the new proposal is a step toward transparency.
“The announcement that we recently saw from the administration is a step forward in that it is a proposal...that then goes through comments and then eventually could be finalized,” Mayne said.
Mayne said if the rule is finalized and approved, there is currently no guarantee that the FDA will investigate or research the safety of any ingredients that are disclosed.
“It’s a list of ingredients. It does not mean that FDA has reviewed those ingredients for safety. FDA can choose to prioritize certain ones for a post-market review, but consumers should not understand this as the FDA has now reviewed all of those ingredients for safety,” she said.
RELATED STORY | Taylor Farms recalls jalapeño products in 26 states over salmonella contamination concerns
The government also announced that it is refining a definition for ultra-processed food, raising some concern from industry groups including the Consumer Brands Association.
“America’s packaged food supply is safe and has been a staple in American households for decades. That’s something that a guidance document, crafted without credible experts cannot change. Any so-called definition that captures nearly 80% of the nation’s food supply while picking winners and losers is fundamentally flawed, not based on sound science and politically motivated,” Rhonda Bentz, a spokesperson for CBA said.
