The 99th meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) took place on June 11–20, 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland, during which the safety of certain food additives were evaluated.
Effective August 2, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revoked its authorization of the use of brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in food due to studies showing the potential for adverse health effects to humans.
This article discusses the recent wave of state bills on food additives that have emerged following the California Food Safety Act, FDA’s activities in an effort to get ahead of an inconsistent patchwork of legislation, and criticisms about these bills voiced by legislators, regulators, and industry stakeholders.
Addressing the recent wave of state-level food additives bans and bills, the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has released resources to help inform the public about the benefits of food additives and preservatives, as well as to keep industry abreast of current regulations.
The Singapore Food Agency has proposed amendments to federal regulations that would allow the use of new ingredients in infant formula, and would also extend the use of permitted food additives.
Following the wave of state-level legislation on food additives cropping up across the U.S., two bills have been introduced in Pennsylvania to prohibit nine chemicals from being used as food additives in the state. Additionally, Kentucky wrote a resolution urging FDA to mandate a prohibition on U.S. food manufacturers producing or selling food containing harmful ingredients that have been banned by several other countries.
Missouri and Washington are the latest states to introduce bills to ban the same four food additives as the California Food Safety Act: brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and red dye 3.
A bill has been introduced by California Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-46), who was also behind the recently passed California Food Safety Act, to the California Assembly. Assembly Bill (AB) 2316 would prohibit food containing red dye 40 and titanium dioxide, among other color additives, from being offered by California public schools.
A recently introduced bill in New York State legislature seeks to seeks to establish requirements for the reporting of substances considered “generally ruled as safe” (GRAS).
