It’s a U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule that most Americans know little about, yet gives corporations the license to add potentially harmful i

How the FDA allows companies to add secret ingredients to our food

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2024-12-04 19:30:03

It’s a U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule that most Americans know little about, yet gives corporations the license to add potentially harmful ingredients to foods without regulatory oversight or public notice.

For decades, the FDA’s “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS, designation has allowed food makers to decide for themselves whether certain novel ingredients are safe or not — even without providing evidence to agency scientists.

Consumer advocates claim the system has allowed companies to add harmful chemicals, including suspected carcinogens, to such products as cereals, baked goods, ice cream, potato chips and chewing gum.

Now, President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Service promises to elevate the issue. Although Kennedy’s penchant for amplifying medical conspiracies and his anti-vaccination activism have alarmed many public health experts, his vow to crack down on chemical additives in food has resonated with consumer health advocates.

The anti-vaccine activist could oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.