Our food system is broken. Chemicals used to flavor, color, preserve, process, and package food may pose serious health risks—especially for pregnant women and young children. Yet because of outdated laws, regulatory loopholes, and weak enforcement, many of these chemicals are inadequately tested, never independently reviewed, or approved decades ago using obsolete science.
We urge Congress and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to act now to protect public health by fixing the food chemical safety system. Specifically, we call on policymakers to:
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Reassess chemicals already allowed in our food using modern science
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Close the "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS) loophole that allows secret, industry-led safety decisions
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Address the cumulative health effects of multiple chemicals consumed daily
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Modernize scientific methods used to evaluate food chemical safety
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Enforce existing standards and ban unsafe or carcinogenic substances
States are stepping in where the FDA has failed, but Americans deserve strong, transparent federal protections. It's time to put health first and ensure our food is truly safe for everyone.
