Kennedy asks FDA to revise 'self-affirm' rule for food ingredient safety

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

March 10, 2025 9:53 PM EDT Updated 12 hours ago


March 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. directed the Food and Drug Administration on Monday to revise safety rules to help eliminate a provision that allows companies to self-affirm that food ingredients are safe. This would increase transparency for consumers as well as the FDA's oversight of food ingredients considered to be safe, Kennedy said.

"For far too long, ingredient manufacturers and sponsors have exploited a loophole that has allowed new ingredients and chemicals, often with unknown safety data, to be introduced into the U.S. food supply without notification to the FDA or the public," he said in a statement.

Kennedy has promised to tackle the epidemic of chronic illness with the support of U.S. President Donald Trump, but his broad agenda - ranging from making food healthier to researching vaccines - could conflict with proposed cuts in government spending.

"The FDA is committed to further safeguarding the food supply by ensuring the appropriate review of ingredients and substances that come into contact with food", FDA Acting Commissioner Sara Brenner said in a post on X.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/kennedy-asks-fda-revise-rules-food-ingredient-safety-2025-03-10/

[hueymahl]

1. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut

This sounds like a really good proposal.

[GreenWave]

5. I know. I thought my eyes were deceiving me at first.

[cyclonefence]

2. Wait a minute

This is a *good* thing? From Kennedy Jr? Excuse me while I scrape my jaw off the floor. Or maybe it's a sneaky way to do something bad--yeah, that must be it. Never mind.

[ebbie15644]

3. Actually agree with this

[dutch777]

4. Not the worst thing but who is paying for any "independent" testing and is it really unbiased?

Should just adopt the German standard for food. I think they only allow one specific food preservative and everything else pretty much must be natural. Better living thru chemistry is not a great motto when it comes to what is in your food. I feel for people that thru habit, need for convenience or lack of knowledge rely on highly processed foods

[Akakoji]

6. Absolutely worthless and stupid move

If Kennedy wanted to accomplish the goals he states the very first thing that he would do is to demand testing of thousands of chemicals, additives etc. in food, water, and pharmaceutical drugs that were grandfathered in as GRAS, or generally recognized safe, although never tested, into the system from over a century ago. No one has ever tested on human beings any of the grandfathered substances in our food or pharmaceutical supply to see what effects they have. For some reason they are fixated on fluoride in the drinking water, but that is just one of thousands that we have no idea about. And Kennedy is basically just encouraging a law that already exists with regards to pharmaceuticals, but not really food, biologics in some cases, or what the USDA oversees. Here's a brief summary:

It is difficult to provide an exact number of ingredients in the US food supply or pharmaceuticals that are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) but were grandfathered into the system without undergoing safety testing, but here is some context:

In the United States, the GRAS designation is given to substances that are considered safe by experts based on a history of use or scientific data. The GRAS system was established by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1958 as part of the Food Additives Amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

When the GRAS system was first implemented, many substances were grandfathered in without undergoing formal safety testing. These substances were considered safe based on their history of use in food prior to 1958. The Pew Health Group estimated in 2010 that approximately 3,000 substances were grandfathered into the GRAS system without undergoing a formal safety review by the FDA.

Since then, the FDA has encouraged companies to voluntarily notify the agency of their GRAS determinations, and many have done so. However, it is still possible for companies to self-determine that a substance is GRAS without notifying the FDA, which means that some substances may still be in use without undergoing a formal safety review.

Regarding pharmaceuticals, the situation is different. All new drugs must undergo rigorous testing, including clinical trials, before they can be approved for use by the FDA. However, some older drugs that were approved before the current regulatory framework was established may not have undergone the same level of testing.

In summary, while it is difficult to provide an exact number, it is estimated that around 3,000 substances were grandfathered into the GRAS system without undergoing formal safety testing. However, the FDA has since encouraged companies to notify them of their GRAS determinations, and all new pharmaceuticals must undergo rigorous testing before approval.

[hueymahl]

7. Great context and info

Hopefully those issues get adresed also!

[Torchlight]

8. That's the bait. Expect the switch. nt