US reassesses chemicals used in food

In July, the president of the subcommittee on energy and trade of the Chamber for Consumer Protection introduced the Food Chemical Reassessment Act which aims to tighten controls on chemicals that are increasingly being used in the food sector. The desire of the industries to increase the shelf-life and improve the taste and appearance of the products contributes to the abuse of these substances. The problem is posed by the fact that many of these substances can be used by industries by claiming “As Safe” (GRAS - Generally recognized as safe) which allows them to be used without first being evaluated.  

The aim of the bill is to evaluate substances that have evaded official controls or to re-evaluate potentially dangerous food additives.  

Under the bill, the first ten substances to be reassessed would be:  Perfluoroalkyl substances and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS);  Ortho-phthalates;  Tert-butylhydroquinone;  Titanium dioxide;  Potassium bromate;  Perchlorate;  Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA);  Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT);  Brominated vegetable oil (BVO); and  Propyl paraben.  

The bill would amend to create an Office of Food Safety Reassessment within FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Its purpose would be to reassess the safety of food additives, food contact substances, GRAS substances, and prior-sanctioned substances or classes thereof. Beginning in 2022 and at least once every three years, the Office would reassess the safety of at least ten of these substances, determining if a substance is safe and establishing its conditions of use.  

This would reduce the likelihood of industries using substances that, while making a product more palatable, also make it more dangerous.  

However, because there is no complementary Senate food law, many people believe that this bill will not be implemented. On the other hand, the demands for modernization are increasing, as is the consumer awareness of this issue.    

 

Source:

https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr4694/BILLS-117hr4694ih.pdf