Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as the head of Health and Human Services, has initiated the push to terminate the GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) program managed by the Food and Drug Administration. This label has, for many years, been misused by producers and marketers to release new substances into the US food market, often without clear safety data or official notification to the FDA and the public.
In Kennedy’s view, the need to close this regulatory gap could not be more pressing. His argument emphasizes how such deceit has undermined consumer trust and the overall safety of our national food supply, with an urgent call to action to improve transparency and guarantee safety, thus steering us back towards a healthier nation.
‘Make America Healthy Again’ is more than a slogan for Kennedy; it is a comprehensive plan — a promise to ensure that food ingredients entering the domestic market are not just deemed safe but have comprehensive safety data to back up those claims. A vital aspect of this strategy revolves around abolishing the ‘generally recognized as safe’ (GRAS) certification.
Should GRAS be ultimately eradicated, a new era of responsibility for food companies would begin. These businesses would be legally obliged to notify the Food and Drug Administration whenever they plan to introduce new substances to the food market. They would also be required to share their safety data, promoting transparency and protection for consumers.
At present, the Food and Drug Administration encourages food suppliers to submit a notice under the rule of Substances Generally Recognized as Safe. However, the current law leaves the truth about ingredient safety largely up to the companies themselves, permitting them to self-approve ingredients with no obligation to inform the regulating agency.
Tentative FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner has pledged her commitment to reinforcing food safety. The agency asserts its mission to ensure thorough reviews of ingredients so that nothing links the nation’s food and possible health hazards. This renewed dedication would safeguard all substances that encounter food at any point during the production process.
The GRAS program was officially introduced in 1958 as an amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, under the detail of Food Additives. Originally, it was designed to categorize safe ingredients typically found in food, striving for a safer and healthier food supply.
However, almost 40 years later in 1997, the GRAS program underwent a significant change. The FDA decided to make the program voluntary, which opened a window for the food industry itself to establish an ingredient as GRAS with no obligation to provide supportive safety data to the FDA.
Many critics believe this was a turning point which led to a series of troubling consequences. With the newfound freedom, some food manufacturers exploited the program and unveiled unverified ingredients into the national food supply, some of which could potentially be harmful.
While the GRAS program had noble intent at its inception, opponents argue that it has morphed into a tool that caters to industry convenience at the expense of public health. It’s led to new ingredients, many untested, being entered into the food supply, causing potential harm and chipping away at public trust.