House Oversight Committee Request Information About Phthalates From FDA

A January 10, 2022, letter from the House Oversight and Reform Committee requested information about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulation of phthalates. The letter, written by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), chairman of the Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, was addressed to acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock.

Noting that 28 different phthalates are cleared by FDA for use in food processing and packaging materials and referencing a recent lawsuit filed against FDA over its failure to rule on a 2016 petition to ban phthalates in food packaging and processing materials, the letter requested the following information by January 24, 2022: 

1. Does FDA plan to issue a final decision on Food Additive Petition No. 6B4815, which could substantially reduce dietary exposure to phthalates and, if so, when?
2. What steps, if any, is FDA taking to evaluate the effects that phthalates found in food packaging and processing materials have on human health? 
3. What steps, if any, is FDA taking to work toward banning phthalates from use in food packaging and processing materials? 
4. What test data or studies, if any, does FDA have showing that the 28 currently allowed phthalates are safe for use in products that touch food?