GoKawiilFDA proposal would let more toxic chemicals enter food without safety review
The FDA has proposed expanding its 'threshold of regulation' exemption, which currently applies only to food-contact materials like packaging, to allow chemicals to be added directly to food as flavorings, preservatives, emulsifiers and other additives without safety review, provided they fall below 0.5 parts per billion. The expansion was included in a Federal Register filing tied to the agency's recent move to close the separate 'generally regarded as safe' loophole, which Robert F Kennedy Jr and the FDA publicly touted as a win for food safety.
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Public health advocates argue many hormone-disrupting chemicals are harmful at levels far below the 0.5 ppb threshold, citing an earlier case where a TOR exemption for perchlorate in grain bags raised contamination levels in children's cereal. Critics suggest the expansion was folded into an announcement framed as a safety victory, which some advocates characterize as misleading, and warn it could benefit food manufacturers at the expense of consumer protections.
- FDA proposes widening the TOR exemption to allow chemical additives directly in food, not just packaging.
- Exemption applies to substances below 0.5 ppb, a level advocates say can still be toxic for certain compounds.
- The expansion was quietly included alongside FDA's publicized closure of the 'Gras' loophole, prompting accusations of deception from some advocates.
Source: theguardian.com — Tom Perkins, 2026-10-10
Published there as: “FDA may allow some toxic chemicals to be added to food without safety review”
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