FDA Moves to Tighten Oversight of Food Additives

The US Food and Drug Administration has taken steps to increase oversight of food additives, issuing a proposed rule that would require manufacturers to formally notify the agency when they determine an ingredient to be "Generally Recognized as Safe," or GRAS.

Since 1958, food companies have been permitted to self-certify that ingredients are safe without a full government review. Common GRAS substances include canola oil, black pepper and vinegar. While the FDA has long encouraged companies to flag new GRAS ingredients voluntarily, there has been no obligation to do so — a loophole that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. highlighted at a Washington event on Monday. "We don't even know exactly how many chemicals are in the food that Americans eat every day," he said.

The proposed rule would make such notifications mandatory and expand the public inventory of GRAS notices. Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said the measure was intended to "increase transparency and consumer confidence in the food supply," adding that shifting to a mandatory system "closes a decades-old information gap." The agency is accepting public comments on the proposal for 120 days.

The move is part of the Trump administration's broader "Make America Healthy Again" initiative, which has drawn on priorities championed by Kennedy during his 2024 presidential campaign. Those priorities have already produced changes to federal health policy, including revised recommendations on some childhood vaccines.

In a separate development, HHS and the US Department of Agriculture have submitted a proposed definition of ultra-processed food for final review, though further details are expected at a later date.

The FDA also plans to release guidance aimed at minimizing biological hazards for processors of fresh-cut produce. The announcement comes amid ongoing outbreaks of salmonella and cyclosporiasis affecting lettuce and jalapeños that have sickened thousands of people across the country.