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FDA officially revealed its intent to issue a proposed rule that would make significant changes to the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) process, which, at present, enables the introduction of ingredients to the U.S. food supply without formal safety review.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Dr. Mick Dutcher, the Deputy Associate Commissioner for Food Products at FDA’s Office of Inspections and Investigations (OII), about the work of the Food Products Inspectorate and its activities to ensure food safety.

A GS1 US consumer survey has revealed that 93 percent of Americans are concerned about how frequently food recalls occur. GS1 US says increased recall frequency means traceability efforts are working.

In response to a petition submitted by Cargill, FDA has amended existing regulations to provide for the use of hydrogen peroxide in food production, including meat and poultry, as an antimicrobial agent, oxidizing and reducing agent, and bleaching agent, and to remove sulfur dioxide.

In a testing and sampling assignment conducted from 2022–2024 to determine the prevalence of economically motivated adulteration among imported frozen seafood, FDA found that 36 percent of the samples were violative for short weighting.

Originally limited to Great Value products sold at Walmart, FDA is warning consumers not to eat or purchase imported frozen shrimp sold under five additional brand names, originating from a single distributor, due to potential radioactivity. 

FDA has issued a safety alert raw frozen shrimp products that tested positive for radioactive isotope Celsium-137, which were imported from Indonesia and sold at Walmart stores in 13 states. The agency recommends a recall.

FDA has updated its list of chemicals currently under post-market review, which now includes six additional artificial food colorants, among other chemicals. The agency is also expediting the review of chemicals included in previous updates, like phthalates and titanium dioxide.

This article discusses the sum of Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s actions impacting food packaging. It also looks at why the "Generally Recognized As Safe" (GRAS) provision was originally established, and why it may still be considered useful.

A leaked draft of the second Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Strategy Report has scant new specifics on how the Administration intends to tackle childhood chronic disease, but it outlines an approach that continues to rely on voluntary industry compliance and deregulation for food system reform, which has drawn criticism.