Dive Brief:
- The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has decided to share with the Food and Drug Administration its database on how food makers use chemicals that are "generally recognized as safe," or GRAS.
- The move comes as consumers have criticized the GRAS system and as regulators have pushed for more transparency on how food manufacturers use chemical ingredients.
- The GMA, which counts nearly every major food maker in America as members, has also said it would create a new standard by which companies could assess the safety of chemical ingredients, but has offered few details.
Dive Insight:
The FDA has been hinting of late that it intends to "re-review" many of the ingredients that were earlier determined to be GRAS. The GMA would like to get ahead of those re-reviews and ensure that its point of view is represented, and that no egregious levels of regulation are imposed.
The FDA responded to GMA's decision to share its database by saying it is "supportive of any initiative that promotes scientific rigor and transparency to independent GRAS determinations ..."