The Ensuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act overhauls the federal process for approving chemicals in food by tightening the 'Generally Recognized as Safe' (GRAS) standard that manufacturers currently use largely on their own. Food makers would be required to submit formal safety notices to the FDA — including data on cancer risk, reproductive toxicity, and cumulative exposure — before a substance can be used, and the FDA must publicly post those notices and accept at least 60 days of public comment. The bill bars experts with financial conflicts of interest from evaluating GRAS determinations, and requires the FDA to actively reassess at least 10 existing food substances or chemical classes every three years. Any chemical already submitted for GRAS review before enactment must also meet the new standards if the FDA chooses to revisit it.
Average Household Impact
- FDA review of chemicals in widely sold food products — expands mandatory safety evaluation covering everyday consumer foods
- Public comment period of 60+ days on each GRAS notice — adds consumer input before food chemicals are approved
- GRAS self-certification by food manufacturers — narrows the existing system where companies determined safety without FDA sign-off
Transparency & Accountability
- FDA public posting of all GRAS safety notices and supporting data — requires disclosures previously kept by manufacturers
- Conflict-of-interest bar on industry experts evaluating GRAS determinations — adds independence standard to the review process
- FDA mandatory 3-year reassessment cycle of at least 10 food substances — adds ongoing government review obligation
- FDA publication of objection or non-objection decisions including toxicology memos — makes agency reasoning publicly accessible
Congressional Summary
Ensuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act of 2025This bill limits the circumstances in which a food additive may be considered generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to review the safety of all such additives.Under current law, food additives generally require pre-market FDA approval unless they are considered GRAS (generally recognized among qualified experts as safe for their intended use). When a manufacturer determines that an additive is GRAS, it may, but is not required to, notify the FDA of that determination. Under the bill, before an additive may be used in food, it must be (1) approved by the FDA, or (2) the subject of a GRAS notification submitted up to two years after the bill’s enactment to which the FDA has not objected.GRAS notifications submitted after enactment must include specified supporting information. The FDA must publish and seek public comment on such notifications. The FDA must ultimately publish a written determination stating whether it objects to the GRAS determination along with its reasoning.The FDA may also reassess GRAS notifications submitted before the bill’s enactment and require a manufacturer to submit the same supporting information required of post-enactment notifications.The FDA must annually review or reassess at least 50 GRAS notifications until all notifications have been reviewed or reassessed. Separately, the FDA must regularly reassess the safety of approved food additives and those considered GRAS.Finally, the bill makes toxic and carcinogenic substances ineligible to be considered GRAS.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-07-17
- Date Added
- 2026-06-02
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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