Oversight Of ‘Safe’ Food Ingredients Lax

FDA’s oversight of generally recognized as safe (GRAS) food ingredients, including those containing nanoscale materials, is insufficient, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study finds (GAO-10-246). Companies do not have to tell FDA when they determine that a substance is GRAS, and FDA is not systematically evaluating the safety of GRAS substances as new information emerges, the study notes. GRAS substances can enter the marketplace without premarket review and approval by FDA. GAO recommends that FDA develop a strategy that requires companies to provide FDA with basic information about all GRAS substances. “FDA’s approach to regulating nanotechnology allows engineered nanomaterials to enter the food supply as GRAS substances without FDA’s knowledge,” GAO writes. In contrast, food ingredients that contain nanomaterials must be cleared by regulators in Canada and the European Union before they enter the marketplace, GAO points out.