Two months ago, I posted about states banning certain food additives and how doing so can fracture the efforts to create uniformity in the United States food safety system. Last month, FDA responded by adding some of the chemicals banned by these states to its post-market safety review list. This list is in the quote below and, as can be seen, it is rather lengthy.
Jim Jones, the FDA's new Deputy Director for the Human Foods Program, does not paint an optimistic picture of how this review will occur or whether it can ultimately achieve uniformity. One the one hand, he notes that FDA must lead the way in chemical food safety "because your access to safe food should not depend on where you live in the United States." But he then bemoans the fact that FDA does not currently have enough resources, noting that the "proliferation of new food ingredients, food contact materials and production techniques has not only increased the workload in this area, but has also increased the complexity of the work."
So is uniformity in the food safety space an unattainable dream, or will more resources solve the problem? FDA recently requested its largest budget increase ever for fiscal year 2024, which included 40 positions for chemical assessment. If Congress approves it, what will be the fate of the chemicals on this list, and will our food supply be safer?
[FDA] updated the list of chemicals it is assessing, adding mycotoxins (T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin and zearalenone), potassium bromate, and propylparaben. The list also includes 3-Monochloropropane-1,2-diol (MCPD) esters and Glycidyl Esters (GE); 4-MEI 4-Methylimidazole CAS Number 822-36-6; arsenic, authorized PFAS including certain short-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in food contact and paperboard, authorized PFAS in food contact applications, bisphenol A, brominated vegetable oil, cadmium, Red Dye No. 3, fluorinated high-density polyethylene, irgafos 168, lead, mercury, partially hydrogenated oil, per- and polyfluoroalkyl, phthalates, thallium, and titanium dioxide
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