With deregulation-focused Republicans in Congress reluctant to fulfill the industry-wary goals of the Make America Healthy Again initiative, some Democrats are taking up the torch.

Health and environmental activists have sounded the alarm for decades over the considerable leeway the Food and Drug Administration gives American corporations who profit from adding their chemical products to a host of consumer goods, including food.

Rep. Frank Pallone’s, D-N.J., newly introduced legislation would close the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) loophole, a voluntary disclosure system which allows companies to self-certify the safety of their own food and cosmetic additives, bypassing FDA’s pre-market testing and review.

Pallone’s Grocery Reform And Safety Act (GRAS Act) would require companies to provide the FDA with scientific evidence of their products’ safety before release onto the market or in consumer products. It would also authorize updated safety evaluations of food additives, color additives and substances currently labeled as GRAS every three years. Companies would have to shoulder at least part of FDA’s reassessment expenses.

“With kids across the country heading back to school, parents shouldn’t have to worry that the food in their lunch boxes or in their cafeterias contains chemicals that were never reviewed for safety. Parents deserve to know the food they’re buying for their families is safe,” Pallone said.

More here

Tagged: Partner BACK TO HOMEPAGE