FDA: Cut the Chemicals
Limit dangerous additives in our food
Americans shouldn’t need a chemistry degree to eat safely—but today, no one, not even the FDA, can say exactly what’s in our food. A new investigation by Consumer Reports and Yuka, the product transparency app, found that many popular snack foods contain additives at levels that may pose real health risks over time. This included popular snacks like Crunchy Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Hostess Donettes Mini Powdered Donuts, and Jell-O Zero Sugar Instant Pudding Chocolate Fudge. While manufacturers are phasing out their use of some additives, the process has been delayed and is entirely voluntary. Meanwhile, a decades-old loophole still allows companies to introduce new additives without FDA review, and U.S. safety limits often lag far behind those set by other public health authorities.
The FDA must act. It’s time to close the loopholes, set strong limits on high-risk additives already in our food supply, and then regularly re-evaluate their safety based on the latest scientific evidence. Families deserve clear protections—not hidden risks in everyday snacks. Until regulators catch up with the science, Americans will continue to be exposed to potentially harmful substances without their knowledge or consent. Sign now and tell the FDA to take action and protect consumers from dangerous additives in our food.
Message to the FDA
The Food & Drug Administration has a responsibility to ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply, yet critical gaps in oversight continue to put consumers at risk. Recent findings from an investigation by Consumer Reports and Yuka show that many widely consumed grocery products, including many popular kids’ snacks, contain additives at levels that exceed what experts say is safe to consume daily over the course of a lifetime—sometimes by significant margins. The agency’s earlier announcement on post-market assessment is not enough. Americans deserve a food system that is safe, transparent, and accountable.
We urge the FDA to take the following five actions immediately:
1. Establish a clear and transparent risk assessment methodology. The FDA should establish a clear and transparent methodology for assessing the risks of food additives and establishing safe daily intake levels, similar to the approach used in Europe. The details of this process and its conclusions should be made fully available to the public.
2. Regularly reassess the safety of food additives. The safety of food additives should also be regularly reassessed in light of scientific advances. Many have not been reviewed for safety in decades.
3. Better regulate the use of additives based on specific product categories. Stronger oversight is needed to determine how additives may be used across different products, which can vary widely by food type and dietary habits. For example, an additive in decorative frosting consumed on special occasions does not raise the same level of concern as the same additive found in breakfast cereals consumed daily.
4. Better account for the specific vulnerabilities of children. Risk assessments must also better account for the specific characteristics of children, including their dietary habits, lower body weight, and increased vulnerability to certain health effects.
5. Close a longstanding regulatory loophole. The Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) loophole allows companies to introduce new substances into foods without notifying the FDA or undergoing federal safety review. New food additives should not be permitted on the market unless a comprehensive and independent quantitative risk assessment has been conducted by experts appointed by the agency.