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The rule would close a decades-old gap that let manufacturers add ingredients to food without alerting federal regulators
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The Food and Drug Administration on Monday proposed a rule that would require food manufacturers to notify the agency when they determine an ingredient is "Generally Recognized as Safe," or GRAS, ending a voluntary system that has left regulators without a full picture of what chemicals are in the U.S. food supply.
Under existing law, companies can self-determine that an ingredient qualifies for GRAS status — meaning it is widely accepted as safe by qualified experts in its intended use — without telling the FDA. The agency has run a voluntary notification program for years, but participation has not been required. Under the proposed rule, manufacturers would be required to submit notifications to the FDA, and the agency would broaden the public inventory tracking those submissions, HHS said.
