The FDA is giving consumers one month to comment on a proposed method for ranking chemicals in food.
The new method would involve a systematic and science-based approach to determine which chemicals the Food and Drug Administration would prioritize for post-market assessment, according to a statement from the agency.
With the new method, the FDA would be able to allocate resources more efficiently, ensuring that the agency focuses on food chemicals that present the greatest public health risks. The method would, among other things, assess the risks to sensitive groups such as children.
“Determining if a chemical — either one intentionally added to food or a contaminant that is not intentionally added — needs to be further evaluated based on new information takes a structured and science-based approach to ensure that the FDA’s reviews are most protective of the health of consumers,” according to the agency’s announcement.
“The method released June 19 uses Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) to determine a score for each chemical based on evaluating the information about a chemical against a pre-determined set of criteria.”
The proposed method is similar to one that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uses for prioritizing chemicals, but the FDA’s method takes into account factors specific to exposure from food and uses a scoring method similar to the FDA’s Risk Ranking Model for Traceability.
“The FDA is committed to radical transparency as the agency develops processes for prioritizing chemicals in food for a post-market assessment. These processes will help to ensure that FDA is taking a risk-informed approach in reviewing data and information about the safety of chemicals in the food supply to protect the health of consumers,” according to the agency’s announcement about the comment period.
As part of its chemicals in food program the FDA ensures exposure to chemicals is safe. This includes chemicals authorized for use in and with foods during food packaging, processing or other handling, or contaminants that enter the food supply through the growing or processing environment. Such contaminants would include pesticide use on vegetables and other food crops.
The FDA says food manufacturers have a major role in food chemical safety. The food industry has a responsibility to minimize or prevent hazards from contaminants and ensure the safety of chemicals they use.
The comment period will close on July 18. The public and other interested parties can file comments by accessing the document at docket FDA-2025-N-1733. Comments should be in response to questions listed at Section 4 of the method description document.
After the public comment period closes, the FDA will submit the method and public comments for further evaluation by external scientific experts in line with the requirements of the Information Quality Act.
For more information about chemicals in food, go to Food Chemical Safety.
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