"There are serious weaknesses in a system that allows firms to self-affirm the safety of food ingredients without the approval or knowledge of regulators, according to researchers conducting a probe into the nation’s food additives law."
"Tom Neltner is in charge of a comprehensive, three-year investigation into food additive regulations conducted by the Pew Health Group, which is part of The Pew Charitable Trusts."
"Speaking to this publication about the progress of the project two years in, Neltner said firms opting for self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status for their ingredients are not legally required to notify the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which means the agency cannot ensure the sufficiency of all new GRAS determinations because it only reviews the ones that are sent to it."
A recent article by Pew experts concludes that the science the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses to assess the safety of food additives has not kept pace with recent scientific developments, and the agency should review and retool its approach to making decisions about the safety of chemicals used in food and packaging in the United States.
More info"Amid growing public concern over the safety of additives in products ranging from caffeinated energy drinks to industrial chemicals in food containers and water bottles, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is under pressure to reexamine its rules, and there are signs it may do so."
More infoThe complexity of our food supply and the oversight of its safety raise fundamental questions about what we eat — some of which were answered for the first time in "Navigating the U.S. Food Additive Regulatory Program," an analysis undertaken by Pew and published in the peer-reviewed journal, Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety. The following "frequently asked questions" summarize the findings and conclusions of this article.
More infoFrom oil in Gatorade to the amount of caffeine and other stimulants in energy drinks and the so-called "pink slime" found in beef, previously unnoticed ingredients are coming under scrutiny as health-conscious consumers demand more information about what they eat and drink, and sometimes go public via social networking and the Internet.
More infoMore than 70 stakeholders examined how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ensures that people are exposed to safe levels of chemicals in food.The proceedings, published in the January 2013 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, lay out participants’ perspectives for enhancing the FDA’s methods.
More infoSarah Kavanagh and her little brother were looking forward to the bottles of Gatorade they had put in the refrigerator after playing outdoors one hot, humid afternoon last month in Hattiesburg, Miss. But before she took a sip, Sarah, a dedicated vegetarian, did what she often does and checked the label to make sure no animal products were in the drink. One ingredient, brominated vegetable oil, caught her eye.
More info"Grocery shoppers examining colorful packages bearing long lists of hard-to-pronounce ingredients might take comfort in the belief that those substances were deemed safe by the government. But that's not the case. Over the past 15 years, the vast majority of new ingredients added to U.S. food never received a safety determination from the government."
More infoIn the November 1, 2011, edition of the peer-reviewed journal Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety (CRFS), Pew Health Group published a rigorous analysis of the U.S. food additive regulatory program. Key among the findings is that more than 10,000 chemicals were allowed in human food as of January 2011.
More infoIn April 2011 Pew Health Group convened a workshop bringing together more than 80 experts from government, industry, academia and public interest organizations to examine the principles underlying the development and use of scientific evidence to identify and characterize chemical hazards. Based on the workshop discussions, Pew made several important observations.
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