Reply to Why doesn't USA FDA mirror European standards on food, cosmetics, medicines, etc.?

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Reply to "Why doesn't USA FDA mirror European standards on food, cosmetics, medicines, etc.?"

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[quote=Anonymous]The FDA has large loopholes. That's how all those people got sick a few months ago.

Basically, the  industry is left to police itself.  They can label something as “Generally Recognized as Safe" like vinegar to by pass FDA review.

The FDA is way late to the game due to corporate interests. Think about how oxycotin flooded the market here, but not Europe

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fdas-hands-approach-additives-may-allow-unsafe-ingredients-food-expert-rcna

[quote]In July, the FDA banned the use of brominated vegetable oil after studies had shown that it could be potentially harmful to the liver and heart, and may be linked to neurological problems. The ingredient had already been banned in the U.K., the European Union, India and Japan.

the FDA’s designation of “Generally Recognized as Safe,” or GRAS, which is used by the agency to label ingredients that outside experts widely consider safe for use in foods. Ingredients deemed GRAS don’t need to undergo FDA approval before being used.

The rule was intended to simplify the use of common ingredients like salt and vinegar by avoiding a lengthy approval process while also freeing up the FDA’s limited resources.

Their review of the use of GRAS found, however, that over the years, food companies began using the rule as what Pomeranz called a “loophole” to add new substances — including natural sweeteners, preservatives and ingredients that enhance the texture of foods — that had not been fully vetted by the agency. Some companies have also used the rule to justify adding higher levels of caffeine to their products

From 1990 to 2010, an estimated 1,000 substances were labeled GRAS by manufacturers and were used without notifying the agency, Pomeranz said, citing earlier research. Since then, she added, there have likely been many more ingredients added to the nation’s food supply without the FDA’s oversight.

“We have no idea how many substances are in the food supply based on this self-GRAS mechanism,” Pomeranz said. “The food industry has basically made their own decisions about what is GRAS.”[/quote][/quote]

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