"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 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 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 infoResearchers say that some chemicals have unexpected and potent effects at very low doses — but regulators aren't convinced. 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 info"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."
More info"In a study published last year in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers put five San Francisco families on a three day diet of food that hadn’t been in contact with plastic ... "
More infoThousands of ingredients that go into food have been classified as safe by private industry alone, without any government oversight, according to a new report published Wednesday...The peer-reviewed report published in the Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety journal draws on research funded by the Pew Health Group, the health and consumer safety arm of the nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts.
More infoSafety decisions concerning one-third of the more than 10,000 substances that may be added to human food were made by food manufacturers and a trade association without review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to an analysis spearheaded by the Pew Health Group.
Pew answers 13 frequently asked questions and analyzes the complexity of our food supply and the oversight of its safety.
Pew joins more than 70 stakeholders in examining how U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ensures that people are exposed to safe levels of chemicals in food and lay out perspectives for enhancing the FDA’s methods.
Erik Olson
Senior Director, Food Portfolio
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Maricel Maffini
Senior Officer, Food Additives
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Tom Neltner
Director, Food Additives
The Pew Charitable Trusts
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