Story perspectives

RFK Jr. Pushes GRAS Ingredient Notification Rule, Seeks FDA Authority

8/12/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a rule requiring notification of GRAS ingredients and asked Congress for FDA authority.
Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said notification will close a decades-old information gap and increase visibility.
The draft sets 45-day review, 180-day decision, and a comment period.
Environmental Working Group (EWG) vice president Melanie Benesh called the step positive but said full reform needs science-based standards and independent review.

History

Historical Context

On 6 September 1958 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Food Additives Amendment, creating the “generally recognized as safe” exemption for about 700 substances and introducing the Delaney clause barring carcinogenic additives. The FDA’s early GRAS list set a pre-market safety baseline that today’s proposal to require notification of thousands of additives seeks to extend.

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Story summary

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a rule requiring notification of GRAS ingredients and asked Congress for FDA authority.
Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said notification will close a decades-old information gap and increase visibility.
The draft sets 45-day review, 180-day decision, and a comment period.
Environmental Working Group (EWG) vice president Melanie Benesh called the step positive but said full reform needs science-based standards and independent review.

1 / 2