U.S. Senate passes food safety legislation amid criticism of FDA additive rules

The U.S. Senate has passed the bipartisan Making America’s Food Safer Act, a measure designed to strengthen the national food safety system. The legislation, supported by Senators Tim Kaine, Bill Cassidy, and Tommy Tuberville, aims to improve how federal, state, and local regulators respond to foodborne illness outbreaks, inspections, and recalls. Key provisions include granting the FDA greater ability to share safety information with local agencies and expanding the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services to order the destruction of products that pose significant public health risks.

Separately, consumer advocates are criticizing a proposed FDA rule intended to address the “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) loophole. For decades, manufacturers have been able to self-certify chemical additives without rigorous FDA testing. While the FDA’s new proposal would require companies to notify the agency when claiming a new additive is safe, critics from Consumer Reports argue the rule is “toothless.” They note that the proposal lacks immediate recourse to remove ingredients from the market if notification is skipped and does not apply retroactively to additives already in the food supply.