Bill Re-introduced to Create Office of Food Safety Assessment

On June 7, 2023, U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the Food Chemical Reassessment Act of 2023. The bill would require the establishment of an Office of Food Safety Reassessment (the Office) within the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) and require that the Office reassess the safety of at least ten substances added to food or food packaging every three years, beginning in 2024.

The legislation further specifies the first ten substances that should be reassessed, namely: tert-butylhydroquinone, titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, perchlorate, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), brominated vegetable oil (BVO), propyl paraben, sodium nitrite, and sulfuric acid. The bill would also re-establish a Food Advisory Committee to advise FDA on the standards, processes, and methods necessary to reassess the safety of these substances.

Reps. Schakowsky and DeLauro introduced a version of this bill two years ago. A press release from Schakowsky’s office about the introduction of the legislation refers to the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) program as a “loophole.”