The US Food and Drug Administration is proposing to expand an exemption that could let companies add certain chemicals directly to food without a safety review.
Currently, the threshold-of-regulation exemption applies to chemicals used in food-contact materials such as packaging and processing equipment. It requires that they be non-carcinogenic and present at levels below 0.5 parts per billion. The proposed expansion would cover uses in food, including flavorings, preservatives and processing aids.
Public health advocates warn that some chemicals, particularly hormone disruptors linked to brain damage and reproductive harm in children, may pose risks below that limit. An existing exemption for perchlorate in grain bags dramatically increased the chemical's presence in children's cereal; advocates warn it could cause brain damage.
The expansion appears in a proposed FDA rule addressing a separate regulatory pathway for food ingredients. The change remains a proposal.
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