WASHINGTON – Today Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) reintroduced legislation to strengthen food chemical safety by closing regulatory loopholes and requiring the reassessment of chemicals of concern.
The following is a statement from Melanie Benesh, vice president for government affairs at the Environmental Working Group:
EWG applauds the reintroduction of the Ensuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act. The bill aims to protect the public from toxic food additives by improving how the Food and Drug Administration reviews food chemicals.
Many chemicals used in food today have not been reviewed for safety by the FDA in decades. Some chemicals have never been reviewed at all. A loophole that allows companies to self-certify chemicals as “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS, bypasses regulation and FDA oversight. As a result, food companies have been allowed to determine the safety of 99% of new chemicals used in the food we eat every day.
This broken system allows potentially harmful chemicals to enter the food supply with little to no oversight and puts the burden on consumers to determine the safety of their food instead of the FDA – the agency tasked with protecting them.
This bill would put the FDA back in charge of food safety by closing the GRAS loophole and requiring agency review and approval of all new chemical food additives. It would also mandate that the FDA go back and reevaluate the chemicals used in our foods today, to make sure they are safe.
EWG commends Sens. Markey and Booker for their leadership in making food safety and public health a national priority.
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The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.
