The FDA is taking an important step toward better protecting the food we eat. The new Human Foods Program promises to assess the safety of chemicals in food using the most current and available science.
That must include looking at 'real-world' health risks that arise from the multiple chemicals present in our food. Evaluating the safety of chemicals one-by-one often underestimates the true risks we face. We also believe this process should be transparent, independent and inclusive, with multiple opportunities for public involvement.
Join us in encouraging FDA to establish this critical update to how chemicals in our food are deemed safe.
Dear Deputy Commissioner Jones,
FDA has taken an important step toward protecting the food we eat in creating the Human Foods Program. We encourage you to continue this momentum by developing a robust process for determining the safety of the chemicals in our food, including ingredients considered generally recognized as safe, food additives, color additives, food contact substances, and contaminants.
This new process should be transparent, independent, and inclusive. There should be multiple opportunities for public involvement. After all, the decisions you make about the safety of our food affect us all.
As a concerned individual, I hope FDA uses the best available science in determining the safety of the chemicals it allows in our food. This includes considering together the multiple chemicals in our food that may cause the same health harms, especially for vulnerable populations like pregnant women and infants. Considering the safety of these chemicals individually instead of cumulatively underestimates the real-world risks they present.
Many of us are concerned about the chemicals in our food. FDA should expedite the implementation of this long overdue focus on addressing the harmful chemicals in our food. Highly toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury, PFAS, TCE, methylene chloride, BPA, phthalates and other synthetic chemicals are examples of substances that should not be in our food.
Thank you for your leadership,
Advocate
