Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., is pushing for the Toxic-Free Food Act, which would close the “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) loophole and require the FDA to subject chemical food additives to FDA approval and oversight. introduced.
The veteran lawmaker also submitted public comments to the Food and Drug Administration as the agency works to develop a post-market evaluation system for chemicals in food, allowing companies to self-certify that new ingredients are safe. We called on the Food and Drug Administration to close loopholes in GRAS that allow The consumer decides voluntarily whether or not he will notify the FDA of his conclusions.
“When Americans shop at the grocery store, they need to be confident that the food they are purchasing is safe for consumption and free of harmful chemical additives that can lead to illness and death.” said Congressman DeLauro.
“GRAS loopholes allow companies to decide whether it is safe to add additives, allowing potentially dangerous chemicals to enter the market, bypassing FDA oversight.” That’s unacceptable. I’m proud to call on the FDA to close this loophole and introduce the Toxic Free Food Act to ensure that chemical food additives are subject to FDA approval.”
The GRAS loophole was originally intended to cover safe ingredients such as vegetable oil, flour, baking soda, and spices. In 1997, the FDA relaxed existing protocols and created a “voluntary notification” system. Now, a company can declare a substance as his GRAS, making it possible to introduce hundreds of new chemicals into food with little or no FDA oversight.
The Non-Toxic Food Act would require FDA to incorporate certain requirements into the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) Food Substances Regulations, including specific restrictions for substances that cause cancer and human reproductive or developmental toxicity. Become. The text of the bill is here.
“None of us should have to worry about whether the food we eat or feed our families is safe,” said Jessica Hernandez, policy director at the Environmental Working Group. “For too long, the FDA has allowed the food and chemical industry to determine whether certain chemicals, such as toxic ‘forever chemicals’ known as PFAS, are safe to eat. The Non-Toxic Food Act protects consumers by returning responsibility for food safety to the FDA, rather than food and chemical companies. EWG applauds Rep. DeLauro’s leadership on this important public health issue. ”
The food industry has not yet commented on the bill, but it is unlikely that it would want to abandon GRAS.
“Current regulations that allow food manufacturers to self-regulate and determine the safety of food chemicals without FDA review are completely unacceptable,” said Consumer Reports Food Policy Director Brian Ronholm. “The Non-Toxic Food Act would close this dangerous loophole, stop this secret process of hiding safety data, and allow FDA to determine whether substances added to food are safe.”
“Food companies can add chemicals to food without notifying or providing safety data to the FDA. The Non-Toxic Food Act protects food from harmful chemicals. “This is a much-needed step to give FDA more authority to protect consumers,” said Peter Lurie, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Mr. DeLauro also submitted written comments to FDA for a public meeting on the development of postmarket assessments for chemicals in food, urging the agency to close loopholes in GRAS.
“For too long, this loophole and FDA inaction have failed to protect us from chemicals added to our food,” DeLauro wrote. “…To restore consumer confidence, FDA has taken bold action to ban or restrict food chemicals of concern, reaffirm its regulatory role, and clarify which chemicals are safe for consumers.” We have to close the loophole that allows chemical companies to decide on their own what is safe.”
DeLauro’s full comment has been found here.
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