FDA Updates on Chemical Safety Reassessment Work, Reveals Substances of Agency’s Focus
Following a May 2023 announcement of a new framework for systematic post-market reassessment for chemicals used in foods, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a public inventory of certain food ingredients and additives determined to have unsafe uses in food because they are unapproved, as well as lists of select chemicals currently under the agency’s review. FDA also shared insights about the agency’s work to enhance the assessment of ingredients in foods on the market.
In addition to FDA’s pre-market programs, the agency uses active post-market monitoring of new safety information related to food ingredients to ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply. Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDC), any ingredient used or intended for use in food must be authorized by FDA for use as a food additive, unless that use is deemed Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) or meets a listed exception to the food additive definition in FFDC. An unapproved food additive is deemed to be unsafe under FFDC.