Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, introduced the Toxic Free Food Act, which would require the FDA to close the “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) loophole and subject chemical food additives to FDA approval and oversight .
The veteran lawmaker has also submitted public comments to the Food and Drug Administration as the agency works to develop a post-market review system for chemicals in foods, urging the agency to close the GRAS loophole gap that allows companies to self-certify that new ingredients are safe. for consumers and voluntarily decide whether to notify the FDA of their conclusions.
“When Americans shop at the grocery store, they should be confident that the food they buy is safe for consumption and does not contain harmful chemical additives that could cause illness or death,” said Rep. DeLauro.
“The GRAS loophole allows companies to decide whether it is safe to add additives, bypassing FDA oversight and allowing potentially dangerous chemicals to reach the market. That cannot last. I have urged the FDA to close this loophole, and I am proud to introduce the Toxic Free Food Act to ensure that chemical food additives are subject to FDA approval.”
The GRAS loophole was initially intended to cover safe ingredients such as vegetable oil, flour, baking soda and spices. In 1997, the FDA relaxed the existing protocol and created the “voluntary notification” system. Now companies can declare substances as GRAS, allowing hundreds of new chemicals to be introduced into our food without FDA oversight.
The Toxic Free Food Act requires the FDA to include specific requirements in its regulations regarding generally recognized as safe (GRAS) food substances, including specific restrictions on substances that cause cancer or human reproductive or developmental toxicity. The bill text is here.
“None of us should have to worry about whether the food we eat and feed to our families is safe,” said Jessica Hernandez, policy director for the Environmental Working Group. “For too long, the FDA has allowed the food and chemical industries to decide whether certain chemicals, such as the toxic ‘forever chemicals’ known as PFAS, are safe to eat. The Toxic Free Food Act will protect consumers by putting the FDA back in charge of food safety, not food and chemical companies. EWG applauds Congresswoman DeLauro for her leadership on this important public health issue.”
The food industry has not yet commented on the bill, but it is unlikely to want to give up GRAS.
“Current regulations that allow food manufacturers to self-regulate and determine the safety of food chemicals without any FDA review are completely unacceptable,” said Brian Ronholm, director of Food Policy for Consumer Reports. “The Toxic Free Food Act would close this dangerous loophole and stop this secretive process that hides safety data, and allow the FDA to determine the safety of substances added to food.”
“Food companies can add chemicals to food without ever notifying the FDA or providing safety data. The Toxic Free Food Act is a much-needed step to empower the FDA to protect consumers from harmful chemicals in our food.” said Center for Science in the Public Interest Chairman Peter Lurie, MD, MPH.
DeLauro also submitted written comments to the FDA for their public meeting on developing post-market reviews of chemicals in foods, urging the FDA to close the GRAS loophole.
“For too long, this loophole and the FDA’s lack of action have failed to protect us from chemicals added to our food,” DeLauro wrote. “. . . To rebuild consumer confidence, the FDA must take bold action to ban or restrict food chemicals of concern, reassert its regulatory role, and close the loopholes that allow chemical companies to voluntarily decide which chemicals are safe for consumers.
DeLauro’s full comments can be found here.
(Click here to sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News.)