FDA to revisit approval of food chemicals that ‘concern consumers most’

Listen to the article
3 min

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.

Dive Brief:

• The Food and Drug Administration on Friday said it would revisit approval of food chemicals currently on the market to assess their safety on human health, starting with ingredients used in products like breads, breakfast cereals and pepperoni.
• The agency is revisiting approval of ADA, used in industrial baking, in addition to BHT and BHA, which are used to extend shelf life of cereal and preserved meats, respectively. The chemicals have been linked to either cancer or hormonal disruption in rats.
• The FDA also plans to expedite evaluation of certain chemicals already under review, including phthalates, propylparaben, and titanium dioxide. The reassessments come as the agency plans a “stronger, more systematic review process” for food chemicals, particularly ingredients that “concern consumers most,” according to the announcement.

Dive Insight:

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told senators last week that addressing the health impacts of food additives and ultraprocessed foods have now become the primary objective of the FDA and the National Institute of Health.

“One of the big areas of neglect has been linking specific food additives and food processes to the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy testified at a HHS budget hearing. “It is now the central focus of NIH and FDA looking at ultraprocessed foods, at sugars, and the 10,000 additives that are in our food.”

The FDA's plans for more rigorous assessments of food chemicals is likely to spark further efforts among companies to reformulate their products in the face of regulatory and consumer pressure. The FDA has asked the food industry to phase out artificial dyes and colors before 2027, and major companies have accelerated a push to revamp their ingredients lists even as they emphasize that traditional additives and chemicals have been found safe to use.

The new review of food chemicals could lead the FDA to require additional labeling or it could revoke authorizations when chemicals are found to be “really dangerous,” Kennedy told senators last week.

The FDA is set to release a draft outlining how it will prioritize chemicals under existing review, and will finalize a post-market review process based on stakeholder input. The new process will replace the current procedure of conducting post-market reviews on a case-by-case basis.

“We are prioritizing our resources and leveraging gold standard science to create, for the first time, a systematic post-market review program that consumers can trust and rely on,” FDA Commissioner Martin Makary said in a statement. “Only by improving the safety and transparency of the food supply and ensuring consumers can make healthful food choices will we overcome the long-standing trajectory of chronic diseases.”

Widespread layoffs within the FDA could hamper the agency's ability to conduct more expansive reviews. The FDA made sweeping cuts across roles that support the work of scientists and other staffers in charge of safety reviews, the Associated Press reported, leading the agency to expedite plans to hire outside contractors.