RFK Jr.’s FDA wants to close a food-safety loophole. Critics say it’s still half-open.

Washington Post | August 21, 2026

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Health and Human Services Department unveiled a plan on August 17, 2026, to close a decades-old loophole that let food companies add chemicals without notifying regulators. The proposed FDA rule requires companies to notify the agency, and explain their reasoning, before using a new “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS, ingredient.

Notification Isn’t Approval

The FDA gets up to 180 days to make a safety call, but nothing stops a company from selling the ingredient while that clock runs, notes Rachel Roubein for The Washington Post. A 2024 study found hundreds of additives already reached shelves through GRAS self-certification, no public review required.

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Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, agreed the rule needs teeth, since companies can still market ingredients before the FDA weighs in. The FDA says its hands are partly tied by Supreme Court rulings curbing federal power, leaving real reform to Congress. While the announcement may sound like a common-sense policy, a genuine premarket safety check for new food chemicals still doesn’t exist.