FDA Announces New Review Process for Food Chemicals Already on the Market

The initiative is the latest move by a Robert F. Kennedy-led HHS, which has increased surveillance of food chemicals.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on May 15th that it will launch a “more powerful and most systematic review process for food chemicals already on the market.”

Since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took over as Health and Welfare Secretary (HHS) in February, removing harmful ingredients from the American food supply has emerged as a key initiative for his Make America Healthy (MAHA) platform.

“Parents don’t have to worry about what their child’s food is,” Kennedy said in a May 15 statement. “We are taking decisive action and using every necessary authority to clean our food supplies and protect our American families.”

On May 14, Kennedy said in a post on X that the government had “buried an ideology of chronic disease.

“Americans are free to make their own decisions, but it is our duty to give them an informed option,” Kennedy noted.

According to a May 15 press release, the FDA will introduce multiple measures to address food chemicals, including “modernized evidence-based prioritization.” This includes reviewing the “final systematic post-market review process shaped by stakeholder inputs,” and the updated list of chemicals under review.

The FDA will also take steps to promote reviews of chemicals currently under review, such as phthalates, propylparaben and titanium dioxide, according to a press release.

The agency will share information about the status of your work on its website.

According to a press release, the FDA has previously conducted case-by-case post-market reviews in response to citizen petitions or new scientific evidence.

In February, after he began his role as HHS secretary, Kennedy promised that the agency would provide “radical transparency.” FDA Commissioner Marty McCurry said on May 15 that the new measures reflect that objective.

On the shelves of the Color Additive Manufacturing Compant lab in St. Louis on April 2, 2025, there are bottles containing liquids of various colors. Jeff Roberson/AP Photo

“We prioritize resources and leverage gold standard science to create the first systematic post-market review programme that consumers can trust and rely on,” McCulley said.

“Only by improving food supply safety and transparency and enabling consumers to make healthy food choices can we overcome the long-standing trajectory of chronic disease,” he added.

Make America healthy again

The initiative, announced on May 15th, is the latest move to strengthen surveillance of food chemicals.

In February, President Donald Trump established the Make America Healthy Committee after Kennedy was sworn in.

He has been appointed to assess the threat that drug overuse, certain food components, certain chemicals, and other exposures pose to children regarding the mechanisms of chronic inflammation or other established disease.

After Kennedy became Health Secretary, West Virginia banned seven artificial dyes from food and drink products.

Last month, the FDA said it would phase out oil-based synthetic dyes from its American food supply.

On March 10, Kennedy instructed the FDA to explore eliminating the process of allowing businesses to self-approve (GRAS) substances without review and FDA approval.

Currently, manufacturers submit notifications through the FDA’s GRAS notification program, but this is not a required process.

If the self-affirmation pathway is eliminated, companies must be made public to the FDA before introducing new ingredients into their food.

McCurry said the FDA is accelerating review and approval of natural alternatives.

On May 9, the agency said it had approved two new natural color additive options and expanded approval for the third new natural option. Additives are Gardierian extracts, blue, butterfly pea flower extracts, and calcium phosphate.