FDA aims to tighten review process for chemicals in food
The list of compounds being reviewed now includes the substances BHT, BHA, and ADA. Titanium dioxide, propylparaben, and phthalates are already included in the review’s purview.
USA – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is launching a more robust and methodical evaluation process for chemicals in food.
The goal is to improve transparency and guarantee the safety of chemicals in the country’s food, the US government agency said in a statement, citing Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The FDA will assess chemicals currently used in foods using a modernized, evidence-based prioritization methodology and publish the recommendations for public feedback.
Additionally, it intends to implement a methodical post-market review procedure that incorporates feedback from stakeholders.
According to the agency, post-market assessments have always been carried out on an individual basis, frequently in reaction to citizen petitions or fresh scientific data.
However, its new structure will be proactive, grounded in science, and designed with long-term effects in mind.
The statement emphasized that the FDA is fulfilling the American demand for greater accountability and transparency regarding food safety.
“No parent should ever worry about what’s in their child’s food. We’re taking decisive action and using every authority we have to clean up the food supply and protect American families,” said Kennedy.
“We are prioritising our resources and leveraging gold standard science to create, for the first time, a systematic post-market review programme that consumers can trust and rely on,” said FDA Commissioner Martin Makary.
Makary went on to say that America would only be able to reverse the long-standing trend of chronic diseases if the food supply is made safer, more transparent, and allows consumers to make healthy food choices.
In April, the FDA and the HHS announced new measures aimed at phasing out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply as part of the administration’s broader commitment to Make America Healthy Again.
In January, the FDA moved to ban the use of the Red 3 food colouring additive in food, supplements and ingestible drugs.
Earlier this month, the agency approved three new colour additives– galdieria extract blue, calcium phosphate, and butterfly pea flower extract – derived from natural sources, broadening the options available for food manufacturers.
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