FDA Launches Postmarket Chemical Review Program to Ensure Food Safety

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Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a move to improve transparency and strengthen the safety of chemicals used in the nation’s food supply.

The agency is implementing an enhanced review process for food chemicals currently available on the U.S. market, with a particular focus on those that have raised consumer concerns.

Previously, the FDA conducted postmarket reviews reactively, typically triggered by citizen petitions or emerging scientific evidence. Now, the agency is implementing a new framework for these reviews. This updated approach will be “proactive, science-based, and built for long-term impact,” the FDA writes in a press release.

“We are prioritizing our resources and leveraging gold standard science to create, for the first time, a systematic postmarket review program that consumers can trust and rely on,” FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H., said in a statement. “Only by improving the safety and transparency of the food supply and ensuring consumers can make healthful food choices will we overcome the long-standing trajectory of chronic diseases.”

During the next few months, the FDA is planning to implement several key actions, including a new, evidence-based approach to prioritizing the review of existing chemicals, with a draft of this scheme to be released soon for public feedback. Additionally, the FDA will be implementing a final, systematic process for postmarket review, which has been developed with input from stakeholders.

The FDA will also update its list of chemicals currently under review, including synthetic antioxidant food additives butylated hydroxyanisole, butylated hydroxytoluene, and azodicarbonamide, a chemical foaming agent. The agency intends to expedite the review process for chemicals already under scrutiny, such as phthalates, propylparaben, and titanium dioxide.

As part of its commitment to greater transparency, the FDA will continue to provide updates on the progress of this work on its website.

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Source: HealthDay

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