WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday took two decisive actions focused on food chemical safety. First, the agency finalized its new proactive food chemical safety post-market assessment program.
Second, the FDA launched reassessments of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and azodicarbonamide (ADA), chemical additives commonly used in a variety of food products. As part of this reassessment, the agency issued two requests for information regarding the use and safety of these chemicals in food.
'Americans want the FDA to take a fresh look at some of the chemical additives that have become widespread in our food supply,' said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. 'By establishing a comprehensive, science-based framework for reviewing chemicals like BHT and ADA, we're delivering the rigorous oversight Americans deserve. We will act swiftly based on our findings.'
Two documents will guide the FDA's annual food chemical post-market assessment plan. The first, 'Enhanced Systematic Process for Post-Market Assessment of Chemicals in Food,' describes how the FDA will monitor and triage signals that provide information on hazards, use, or exposure related to food chemicals, then prioritize for assessment, evaluate, and manage these chemicals in the food supply. Based on public feedback, the agency streamlined this process, incorporated additional public engagement opportunities, and provided additional details regarding how it will receive and identify potential safety signals, triage signals to determine how they should be handled, and how scientific assessments will be communicated to the public.
The second document, 'Post-Market Assessment Prioritization Tool,' helps identify priority food chemicals for full scientific assessment by focusing on potential risk to public health. Based on public comment and external scientific peer review, the FDA made modifications to the agency's previously proposed method for ranking chemicals for assessment, including streamlining decisional criteria and scoring to focus on public health outcomes and increasing clarity on how the prioritization tool fits into the FDA's overall systematic process.
BHT is used to prevent spoilage of fats and oils and can be found in various food products including breakfast cereals, frozen pizza, frozen meals, baking mixes, cookies, chewing gum, and meat products. ADA is used as a whitening agent in cereal flour and as a dough conditioner in breadmaking and has applications in manufacturing food contact materials.
The public comment period for the BHT and ADA RFIs will close on July 13. The FDA urged food manufacturers, researchers, and consumers to submit relevant data and information.
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