Is your CBD latte safe? Don’t ask the FDA
Source: EWG (January 13, 2022)
listed CBD as a controlled substance, in 2018. Today it’s added to lattes, tea, kombucha, snacks like cookies and more.
Broken GRAS: It’s time for FDA to wake up and protect consumers from dubious ingredients
Source: EDF (January 5, 2022)
In this blog, we examine another voluntary GRAS notice submitted to the FDA, this one for Venetron, an extract of Apocynum venetum leaves.
Cereal offenders: potentially harmful ingredients in ‘healthy’ breakfast food
Source: EWG (January 3, 2022)
Many breakfast cereals claim to be a healthy way to start the day. Their boxes feature cute, colorful characters and catchy slogans that attract children, and their promise of a “complete” breakfast with whole grains, fiber and vitamins captures adults’ attention.
Broken GRAS: Scientists’ safety concerns are hampered by FDA’s inactions on food chemicals
Source: EDF (December 21, 2021)
Companies have the option to voluntarily notify FDA when they determine that a use of a new chemical or a new use of an existing chemical is Generally Recognized as Safe, or GRAS. When they do notify FDA, agency scientists then review the data and supporting information and can ask additional questions. In most of the cases, FDA agrees with the company’s determination and publishes a “no questions” letter.
Food additives: More than you may have bargained for
Source: EWG (October 21, 2021)
We eat food because we need it to live. But many foods contain additives that not only don’t provide nutrients, but also can be bad for you – and that’s perfectly legal. Food additives are used by manufacturers to do things like lengthen shelf life or provide more color or shine. Scientific studies have shown […]
FDA Must Step Up Its Role as a Chemical Safety Regulator
Source: Bloomberg Law (October 4, 2021)
By Tom Nelter The FDA is charged with regulating the safety of chemical food additives, but the “generally recognized as safe” exemption to the FDA’s approval process has been stretched beyond recognition to cover virtually all new substances, writes the Environmental Defense Fund’s Tom Neltner. Every day, another news story breaks about the contamination of communities due […]
John Oliver enlists Danny DeVito to explain why DuPont’s been poisoning you with PFAs for 70 years
Source: AV Club (October 4, 2021)
“I put something in your child!,” says fake scientist DeVito, as he laughs, and laughs By Dennis Perkins Last Week Tonight’s John Oliver generally alternates between ruining your night by exposing issues both immediate and obvious (the looming threat from a white supremacist authoritarian cult led by a twice-impeached former reality show host and a racist fish stick heir), and […]
FDA and industry continue to ignore cumulative effects of chemicals in the diet
Source: EDF (September 24, 2021)
Tom Neltner, Chemicals Policy Director and Maricel Maffini, consultant The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made no apparent progress to comply with the legal requirement that it consider the cumulative effect of chemicals in the diet that have similar health impacts when evaluating the safety of an additive. A year ago, on September 23, […]
Chemicals in food continue to be a top food safety concern among consumers
Source: Food Safety News (September 20, 2021)
By Guest Contributor on September 20, 2021 FOOD SAFETY EDUCATION MONTH OPINION By Tom Neltner, Environmental Defense Fund Chemicals Policy Director The latest annual food industry survey demonstrates that U.S. consumers continue to have significant concerns about chemicals in food. Specifically, the survey from the International Food Information Council (IFIC) found: 29 percent of consumers rated chemicals in food as their top food […]
PFAS contamination may be an emerging food safety issue
Source: Food Business News (September 14, 2021)
KANSAS CITY — Food manufacturers received reassuring news when the Food and Drug Administration published the testing results of its first survey of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.” The survey showed 164 of the 167 foods tested had no detectable levels of the PFAS measured. Despite the positive news, uncertainty […]