The biggest junk food manufacturers, from PepsiCo on down, created a Trojan horse they call “Americans for Ingredients Transparency” (AFIT) to get Congress to stop states from doing things like banning food dyes and getting ultraprocessed Frankenfoods out of school meals.
We’ve just scored our first win against them! No one in Congress is willing to help them stop state action.
But, they’re still trying to get Congress to cement a Food & Drug Administration loophole known as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) that Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says he wants to close. GRAS lets them slip lab-grown animal cells, genetically modified organisms, and synthetic chemicals into our food without safety testing.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to pass Rep. Pallone’s Grocery Reform and Safety Act, not AFIT’s misleading named “Better Food Disclosure Act”!
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) has introduced legislation that would significantly improve the safety of the U.S. food supply.
The Grocery Reform and Safety Act would, if enacted, restore food ingredient regulation by tightening up the “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) loophole that companies have misused to add harmful new ingredients to food without safety review by the Food and Drug Administration.
Abusing the GRAS process, companies just declare their chemicals are safe and bypass federal pre-market review – even if the FDA has never assessed the ingredients’ safety.
An analysis by the Environmental Working Group found that nearly 99% of all food chemicals introduced since 2000 were greenlighted for use through the GRAS.
Pallone’s bill, if enacted, would require companies to submit safety data to the FDA showing their ingredients are safe. The bill would also require the FDA to re-review ingredients already in our food supply.
No longer would chemical and genetic engineering companies like Bayer (Monsanto) self-assess their own ingredients in secret.
It would also ensure that older ingredients, already in our food, are regularly re-evaluated in light of the latest science.
The FDA would finally do the job of keeping toxic ingredients out of the food we serve our families.
Fearing that Pallone’s bill could pass Congress—or more likely be adopted as a regulatory change by HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—the junk food lobby “Americans for Ingredient Transparency” put together a Trojan horse front-group to push their own bill that they call the “Better Food Disclosure Act.” If enacted, it would take the FDA’s GRAS loophole, which violates Congress’s 1958 Food Additives law, and make it the law of the land.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to pass the Grocery Reform and Safety Act, not AFIT’s misleading named “Better Food Disclosure Act”!
Personal Information
*SAMPLE TEXT TO YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS*
You will be able to modify this text on the next page, after entering your information.
Dear [Member of Congress],
Reject the junk food lobby's attempts to deceive you through their front group, "Americans for Ingredient Transparency." These corporations prioritize profits over public health, and it's time for Congress to stand up for the American people, not special interests. Support legislation that puts the health and safety of our communities first.
They’ve been trying to get Congress to stop states from doing things like ban toxic food dyes and get ultraprocessed foods out of school lunches. Thankfully, so far, no Senator or Representative has been willing to help them with this.
They’re also trying to cement the FDA’s GRAS loophole—a violation of Congress’s 1958 Food Additives law. This, Senator Roger Marshall put into his misleadingly named “Better Food Disclosure Act.”
Please reject Sen. Marshall’s bill and pass Rep. Frank Pallone’s Grocery Reform and Safety Act. Better yet, put pressure on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to follow through on his pledge to take administrative action to close the GRAS loophole. An act of Congress is not necessary. The FDA could just enforce Congress’s 1958 Food Additives law, like it should have done all along.
Thank you.
[Your Name]