05/02/2025

US Health Secretary Pledges ‘Dramatic’ Change to Food Chemical Regulations

Chemical Watch | Kelly Franklin | May 1, 2025

US Health Secretary Pledges ‘Dramatic’ Change to Food Chemical Regulations

Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has promised "revolutionary change" to how the US ensures the safety of chemicals in food, outlining six initiatives the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) intends to pursue to ‘make America healthy again’ (MAHA).

His remarks suggest that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which sits under the HHS, may soon accelerate action on phthalates, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other chemicals of concern in food contact materials (FCMs), even as other federal agencies shift to a deregulatory stance.

Secretary Kennedy said the US faces a childhood chronic disease epidemic driven by multiple causes, including "absorption of toxic material and food production techniques", according to comments made at the Chemicals of Concern Policy Summit in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the end of April.

To address this ‘crisis’, he told assembled government officials, industry participants, NGOs and scientists that the HHS will:

revise the generally recognised as safe (GRAS) process to require transparency and FDA review of food contact chemicals, as described in an earlier directive; 

implement "a systematic post-market review programme" with protocols to reassess previously approved chemicals, foods and FCMs;

expand safety assessments of food contact chemicals at the National Toxicology Program (NTP), including examining endocrine and neurobehavioral effects; 

begin considering cumulative and mixture effects when testing the safety of chemicals in food, including all direct and indirect food additives, food contact substances, and ingredients;

prioritise safety factors for pregnant and breastfeeding people "across the board"; and

deploy and integrate emergency testing techniques across all HHS agencies.

The food system will be "completely different", Kenned said, noting that he has no interest in changes that are "incremental or marginal". 

"We are disrupting this agency," he continued. "We're taking it out of the hands of industry and we're putting it back in the hands of the American people."

"Things are going to change, and they're going to change dramatically over the next four years," he added.

‘Barrage’ of new regulations

Kennedy said he wants to update the GRAS rule to ensure that every new food additive is tested, and to "test as many as we can of the existing additives".

As part of this overhaul, he said he wants to "get rid of whole categories of chemicals in our food that we have good reason to believe are harmful to human health". 

He specifically called for eliminating PFAS that only have "tiny molecular changes" between them.

Kennedy did not expound on the specific regulatory steps to address the GRAS system but said he intended to send a " barrage of new regulations into the Federal Register".

Regulations typically take years to complete, but Kennedy said he has worked with his legal team and "figured out ways that we can do regulations in 90 days".

He also expressed interest in changes that can be made "with a stroke of the pen, without having to go through regulatory process".

He told NGOs they should be "combing through the FDA regulations" to look for ways to effectuate changes, including through modified guidance or policies. 

‘Beyond what is required’

As the HHS moves to "change the playing field", Kennedy called on industry to take proactive steps to clean up the food supply.

Regulations define the "bare minimum", he said. "I'm going to encourage industry to go beyond what is required."

Kennedy said part of his job is to "make consumers worry more" about substances in their food, including phthalates, microplastics and PFAS, and to give them information to make their own choices.

To that end, he said he intends to have the FDA create labelling requirements and have them placed "on all of the products, so that parents can make good decisions for their kids".

He also outlined plans to expand the science on chemicals in food, which he said could help shift the marketplace through private litigation.

The HHS will "look very carefully at the aetiology of chronic disease, to link them to specific culprits," he said. "Once you have the science out there, then the marketplace, through the plaintiff's bar, can redress these chemicals, so you don't even have to go through a legislative process."

He told industry that if they "follow the trend line" of these collective actions, they can futureproof their businesses. 

"I want the consumer brands and the packaging companies in this room to get ahead of the game," Kenned said. "We can ride the wave of global consumer demand for safe, sustainable products and packaging."