Food
Chemicals in Food meeting convened by the FDA
These state bans on certain chemical additives in foods are now a topic being monitored by the Food and Drug Administration, which is convening a public meeting on the development of an improved systematic process for the FDA’s post-market assessment of chemicals in foods.
The public meeting for Wednesday, September 25 will have limited in-person attendance, but virtual attendance is available. Consumers often prioritize food chemical issues over other food safety issues. Still, some criticize the FDA for not adequately regulating additives.
The FDA invites the public to do so register for the public meeting on Chemicals in Food, which will take place on September 25 from 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM EDT.
The purpose of this meeting is for FDA to share information on the development of the agency’s enhanced systematic process for post-market review of chemicals in food, including considerations for identifying and prioritizing food chemicals currently on the market for safety reviews .
In addition, industry and consumer advocacy experts, government officials, research organizations and other stakeholders will have the opportunity to learn more, ask questions and comment openly on specific FDA questions.
This information will help inform the FDA’s further development of the trial. This project is part of a larger, improved approach to food chemical safety. For more information about the meeting, including requesting public comment, please visit the website Federal Register Notice.
The FDA is developing a systematic process for conducting post-market reviews of chemicals in food. This includes ingredients generally regarded as safe (GRAS), food additives, color additives, substances that come into contact with foodAnd pollutants.
This is intended to guide the FDA’s future post-market review work and includes a transparent process for identifying and prioritizing food chemicals in the market for safety reviews. This project is part of a larger, improved approach to food chemical safety.
Consumer Reports’ director of food safety, Brian Ronholm, has said, “The FDA’s system for ensuring food additives are safe is broken.” Ronholm, a former USDA deputy undersecretary for food safety, was among those who supported leading state lawmakers who have single-handedly banned certain additives.
In support of these state actions, Ronholm said, “For too long, the FDA has been unable to keep pace with the latest research showing that some chemicals allowed in food pose unacceptable risks to our health. These bills will protect the public and help fill the regulatory gap by banning certain harmful food additives and requiring greater transparency from manufacturers when introducing new chemicals into food products without FDA review.”
California, New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania were among the states leading these efforts. In May, the California Assembly, where the current multi-state movement to ban certain food additives began two years ago, took further action; this time the focus is on California’s $1.6 billion school lunch program.
In its recent action, the California Assembly sent the Senate a bill that, effective July 1, 2025, will ban foods containing seven specified food coloring additives (Blue 1; Blue 2; Green 3; Red 40; Titanium Dioxide; Yellow 5; and Yellow 6) from being offered , sold or otherwise provided to students by school districts, county offices of education (COEs), charter schools, and special public schools.
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