FDA food program is in flux

The US Food and Drug Administration is moving ahead with a plan to overhaul its food safety efforts , despite a lack of new legal authorities and resources. As part of a reorganization that went into effect Oct. 1, the agency has established an office to conduct postmarket safety reviews of flavors, preservatives, coloring agents, and other chemicals in food. Thousands of these chemicals are found in processed food, and many have never undergone FDA evaluation because they bypassed premarket review under a loophole that allows companies to declare substances as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) without notifying the FDA. The agency also does not have a systematic approach for evaluating food chemicals already on the market when new data suggest harmful effects. It hopes to change that by the end of 2025. At a public meeting on Sept. 25 , FDA officials detailed a recent proposal for what a