By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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WEDNESDAY, March 12, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The nation’s top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a>, is taking steps to tighten oversight of chemicals in the U.S. food supply, a key component of his \u201cMake America Healthy Again\u201d agenda.<\/p>\n On March 10, Kennedy directed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider new rules that would close a decades-old loophole allowing companies to add chemicals to food without government review.<\/p>\n The rule, dubbed “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS), lets companies self-certify the safety of certain food additives without notifying the FDA.<\/p>\n Critics contend that this has allowed potentially unsafe substances to enter the food supply without proper oversight.<\/p>\n Kennedy\u2019s proposal could require companies to report all new food ingredients to the FDA and submit safety data.<\/p>\n But no timeline has been set, and the process could take years to finalize.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is the lowest of low-hanging fruit,\u201d Scott Faber<\/a>, a senior vice president of the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, told The Washington Post.<\/em> \u201cBut to be fair, this small step is one that no administration has previously taken.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy\u2019s announcement coincided with a meeting with top food industry executives, including officials from Tyson Foods, General Mills and Kraft Heinz.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Consumer Brands Association, a food industry trade group, called the move “constructive.”<\/p>\n Kennedy also expressed a strong desire to remove synthetic food dyes, “and he wants this done before he leaves office,” the group’s chief executive, Melissa Hockstad<\/a>, wrote, according to The Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n Industry leaders are actively responding.<\/p>\n The GRAS \u201cprocess plays an important role in enabling companies to innovate to meet consumer demand,\u201d Sarah Gallo<\/a>, a senior vice president at the Consumer Brands Association, said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the administration looks to revise GRAS, we stand ready to work with agency experts on continued analysis of safe ingredients and increase consumer transparency,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n FDA officials have acknowledged that assessing chemicals in food takes too long.<\/p>\n Former FDA commissioner Robert Califf<\/a> supported Kennedy\u2019s plan but warned it would require more staff and more money.<\/p>\n “[Kennedy\u2019s proposal] would be really good, but it would mean that the FDA would have to staff up to assess the data that would determine whether an ingredient is safe,\u201d Califf wrote in a text message obtained by The Post<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019m 100% in favor but the budget impact would be significant.\u201d<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more on food chemical safety<\/a>.<\/p>\n