What's actually in your food? It turns out that even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) might not truly know. That's because
99% of chemicals in U.S. food products never went through safety testing, review, or approval by the FDA. This impacts common items like
chocolate and cookies, popcorn, protein drinks, marinades and sauces, tea bags and coffee, sausages and smoked fish, seeds, and more.
Oftentimes, the FDA doesn't even know corporations are using these additives - because technically that's not a full legal requirement. Instead,
a set of loopholes in U.S. law actually allow corporations to add whatever they want to food products, "self-certify" that these additions are supposedly safe, never even notify the FDA at all, and simply start selling these products to people - including families and children.
Sign the petition to demand that the U.S. close these dangerous loopholes, originally introduced in the Food Additives Amendment of 1958!Every year, people in the U.S. get sick from food additives - but generally, the FDA waits until this happens first before it gets involved. That's because, in the 1958 Food Additives Amendment, Congress
allowed an exception to food safety inspections under the "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) protocol. Over time, this exception has become twisted - and now,
corporations themselves are to be the ones to assert their products are safe (even without proof).
This is even more difficult to address in cases where products cause slow harm that builds up or spreads over time, versus instances where products immediately cause - for example - organ failure right after a person eats them.
Many other places in the world, including multiple European countries as well as New Zealand, operate using a 'precautionary principle,' by reviewing products before they're allowed to go to market. This makes sense! Rather than allowing corporations to essentially experiment on the entire American population and hope nothing goes wrong (or that they don't get caught), these other countries are truly prioritizing the safety and well-being of their residents.
Corporations should not be allowed to just add whatever they want, declare those chemicals safe, and market them to families without any safety checks first. The American people should not be guinea pigs or a hazardous chemical testing ground.Congress and the FDA must do their jobs by choosing to protect the people over corporate profits! Sign the petition!