US Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr has directed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revise its safety rules for food ingredients. The change aims to increase transparency by requiring companies to publicly notify the FDA of their intended use of new ingredients, rather than self-affirming their safety.
Kennedy said that the current rule allows companies to introduce unknown or untested chemicals into the US food supply without notifying the FDA or the public. He wants to close this loophole to better protect consumers and improve oversight.
The FDA currently encourages manufacturers to submit notices under a “Substances Generally Recognized as Safe” rule, but they also have an option to self-affirm their use of certain substances. Eliminating this pathway would require companies to provide supporting safety data before introducing new ingredients into food products.
The Consumer Brands Association, representing companies such as Coca-Cola and Kellogg’s, has expressed support for the proposed change. However, some manufacturers, including PepsiCo and Kraft Heinz, have not commented on the issue yet. The FDA had previously proposed restructuring its food division to increase oversight of the food supply and had also introduced rules requiring nutrition labels on front-of-packaging labels.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/kennedy-asks-fda-revise-rules-food-ingredient-safety-2025-03-10