Groceries

New Report Targets Hidden Ingredients in Food

By Jill Ettinger on April 10, 2014

The Natural Resources Defense Council has released a report identifying 56 companies that have marketed products containing 275 chemicals that meet federal safety standards called GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe). But, the report notes that the companies only disclosed the chemicals in six instances.
In the report, entitled “Generally Recognized as Secret”, the NRDC alleges that the GRAS process is nothing less than a public health threat.
“If you don’t know when (an additive) is being used, how can you determine if it’s safe?” said Thomas Neltner, a chemical engineer and co-author of the study while at a Grocery Manufacturers Association’s (GMA) Science Forum.
Read more about food additives
The GMA defended the GRAS process, saying in a statement, “It is a very thorough and comprehensive process that has, under the current law provided FDA with authority to challenge the improper marketing of an ingredient as GRAS, and if necessary, act to remove products containing that ingredient from the food supply.”
According to the FDA, food manufacturers can determine their own safety standards under GRAS, which the agency says “encourages companies to consult with the agency when developing new ingredients.” But the companies “are responsible for ensuring that their food products are safe and lawful.”


The NRDC said that the Food Additives Amendment of 1958, which includes the GRAS process, was meant to apply to “innocuous additives like vinegar,” reports the Washington Post. “Instead, it is commonly used for chemicals that are potentially dangerous and have never before been in the American food supply. For example, until recently, artificial transfats were considered GRAS but the FDA has now deemed them dangerous, saying they cause as many as 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year.”
Read more about chemicals in food
And, says the NRDC, its findings are “likely the tip of the iceberg,” since GRAS determinations do not have to be publicly disclosed, making it difficult to track.
The report asks the FDA to petition Congress to pass a law that would require manufacturers to undergo a review process by the agency for safety determinations on ingredients falling under the GRAS ruling.