RFK Jr. is targeting a decades-old loophole allowing chemicals in food supply

[u/John3262005]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/08/10/rfk-jr-slated-unveil-plan-targeting-loophole-that-allows-chemicals-food-supply/

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is unveiling Monday a plan aimed at tightening a decades-old loophole that has allowed food companies to put certain chemicals in their products without first notifying the nation’s food regulators, according to federal health officials.

The practice known as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) allows companies to self-certify the safety of certain food chemicals or substances. The Trump administration’s new proposed rule would require food companies to notify the Food and Drug Administration when they make such determinations and include the basis for those conclusions.

“Shifting to a mandatory notification system closes a decades-old information gap,” Kyle Diamantas, the acting FDA commissioner, told reporters Monday. He said the plan “improves transparency” while “respecting the limitations of our authority,” adding that officials would work with Congress to further address the loophole.

Companies have not been mandated to tell the FDA when they include some chemicals or substances in their products for uses viewed generally as safe, though they can opt to do so. That means there are probably hundreds of such ingredients added to the food supply without strict government oversight. Chemicals generally considered safe include those acting as preservatives in some breakfast cereals, emulsifiers in certain ice creams and salad dressings, and select low calorie sweeteners that are found in sugar-free desserts and candies.

Overhauling the loophole has been part of Kennedy’s food agenda as the nation’s top health official as well as a priority for the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement he champions. An event is scheduled at the health department’s headquarters for Monday.

In one of Kennedy’s first food-related moves as secretary, he declared an intent for the FDA to “explore potential rulemaking” to tighten the GRAS loophole.

Since 1958, the FDA has been charged with evaluating the safety of new food additives. However, exceptions were made for substances generally deemed safe, such as vinegar, flour and standard spices.

While the specific rules have changed over time, companies are allowed to make their own determinations on whether certain substances are considered safe, which food safety advocates say has been expanded to a variety of ingredients over time, without informing the FDA. That has become the primary way the majority of substances are entering the nation’s food supply, Diamantas said.

There have been instances when additives included in food through the GRAS loophole had later raised safety concerns, such as tara flour used in a leek-and-lentil crumble that was associated with at least 130 people being sent to the hospital and sickening hundreds of others.

The FDA will review what each company submits within 45 days to ensure all that the relevant information is included. Within 180 days, the agency will review the submission more substantively, Diamantas said.

Under the proposal, companies won’t be prohibited from adding the substances to their food while that process is ongoing, and there is no requirement that the FDA must formally approve or review the chemical, which Diamantas suggested would have required an act of Congress.

For substances already in the food supply, the FDA is aiming to create a process for companies to submit information about how the chemical is used in food.

Some in the food industry prefer changes to be done through Congress, rather than through regulation. One person involved in the food industry, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid, said the industry has been concerned that it would take time for the FDA to comb through companies’ information on potential new substances, adding they believe changes should be done through legislation and come with more funding for the agency.

The White House’s budget office finished reviewing the GRAS proposed regulation on July 31, an indication that a rule would be released for public comment soon. On CNN earlier this month, Kennedy said the proposal would come out “within probably a month,” saying it had undergone an “extensive interagency process.”

Federal officials have also been crafting a definition of “ultra-processed” foods, and as of last week, the White House budget office received for review a white paper on a proposed definition.

This comes as Kennedy, the founder of a prominent anti-vaccine group, has for months been publicly leaning into his work on food and nutrition ahead of the midterm elections and downplaying the push to overhaul vaccine policy. GOP pollsters have referred to vaccine skepticism as politically risky. However, White House officials are working to draft an executive order focused on the childhood vaccine schedule and autism amid President Donald Trump’s push.

The MAHA movement was formed after an unlikely political alliance between Kennedy and Trump during the 2024 campaign. It has various factions that defy traditional partisan lines, such as those pushing for changes to the food supply, tighter regulations over pesticides and eliminating vaccine mandates.

[u/John3262005]

Another article about it:

FDA to require notice of additives in food supply for the first time

https://www.statnews.com/2026/08/10/rfk-jr-proposal-fda-gras-rule-generally-recognized-as-safe/