Archive · 11 Aug 2026
FDA proposes stricter food additive rules, closing GRAS loophole
The government wants to make sure the food we eat is safe.
Right now, companies can decide on their own that a new food ingredient is safe, through a rule called 'GRAS.'
The FDA wants companies to tell them before they add new ingredients.
Companies would have to show the science that proves the ingredient is safe.
The FDA would not check and approve every ingredient, though.
Congress would have to make a new law to require that.
The FDA also made a definition for 'ultraprocessed food,' like chips and sugary cereal.
They sent their definition to the White House to be checked.
This is all part of a plan by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to look more carefully at our food.
The FDA proposed a rule requiring food manufacturers to notify it before introducing new ingredients through the 'generally recognized as safe' (GRAS) pathway.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. framed the proposal as part of a broader push to scrutinize food additives, artificial colors, and highly processed foods.
The FDA would not automatically approve every new ingredient; Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said Congress would need to grant additional authority for mandatory reviews.
The FDA aims to review new ingredient submissions within 180 days and will accept public comments on the proposal for 120 days.
The FDA also completed a first federal definition of 'ultraprocessed food' but withheld it, submitting the language to the White House for review.
- Who
- US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas.
- What
- Proposed a rule requiring food manufacturers to notify the FDA before introducing new ingredients through the GRAS pathway, along with a federal definition of 'ultraprocessed food.'
- When
- Monday, August 10.
- Where
- United States.
- Why
- To close the decades-old GRAS loophole and increase scrutiny of food additives and highly processed foods.
Consumer advocates and public-health groups
FDA and administration officials
Independent safety review of ingredients
Consumer advocates and public-health groups
The current system let thousands of ingredients enter the US food supply without independent FDA assessment, and the proposal does not guarantee that every ingredient is independently reviewed.
FDA and administration officials
Mandatory notification closes a decades-old information gap and gives the FDA comprehensive visibility to enhance postmarket safety; full mandatory review would require new congressional authority.
Adequacy of the proposed rule
Consumer advocates and public-health groups
Former FDA food-program director Susan Mayne called it 'a reasonable first step' but noted most self-affirmed GRAS ingredients would still not be reviewed by the FDA.
FDA and administration officials
The administration says the notification system gives regulators greater visibility into the food supply and lets the FDA investigate submissions when potential safety concerns are identified.
- Proposing agency
- US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Announcement date
- Monday, August 10
- Public comment period
- 120 days
- Ingredient review target
- 180 days
- Estimated additives in US food
- Roughly 10,000
- GRAS self-determination since
- 1997
- Ultraprocessed food definition
- Completed by FDA, submitted to White House for review
- Planned congressional request
- Trump administration to seek additional authority for the FDA