WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) introduced the Ensuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act, legislation that would require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure novel substances are safe before they can be used in foods and to review the safety of existing food chemicals.

Currently, food manufacturers are able to self-designate new food substances as “Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS),” without notifying the FDA or being required to submit to the FDA the scientific evidence that proves these substances are safe. Through the GRAS designation, nearly 99 percent of new food chemicals were added to products without thorough FDA oversight. This has resulted in the widespread use of several ingredients in food products that are linked to cancer, reproductive harm, and other health effects.

The Ensuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act would require all new chemicals used in foods or food processing to be reviewed for safety by the FDA before being used in foods. It would also require the FDA to systemically review the safety evidence of the chemicals that are already in use. U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) are cosponsors of the legislation.

“It is unacceptable that hundreds of new chemicals have entered the food supply without the FDA requiring an independent, scientific review of their safety. This has led to the use of ingredients that have evidence of carcinogenicity or endocrine disruption in thousands of food products,” said Senator Booker. “This legislation will require the FDA to thoroughly review new chemicals before they can be added to foods, finally closing the loophole that has left Americans at risk.”

“Americans deserve to know the food on their kitchen tables is safe for them, their families, and their loved ones to eat,” said Senator Markey. “Our legislation ensures the FDA has the authority it needs to fulfill their responsibility to guarantee the food we eat is safe—free from substances that cause cancer and harm development. It is long past time that we revise existing food safety measures and close the loophole that allows manufacturers to self-regulate which new substances enter our food supply and our bodies.”

“The Ensuring Safe and Toxic Free Foods Act is an important step towards fixing the broken GRAS system that allows manufacturers to put food chemicals on the market without notifying FDA. We must not allow toxic additives to slip through the GRAS loophole and stay in the food supply for decades without getting reassessed for safety. EDF appreciates Senator Markey’s years of leadership on this critical issue to protect Americans’ health,” said Maria Doa, Senior Director of Chemicals Policy at the Environmental Defense Fund.

“EWG applauds the reintroduction of the Ensuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act. For too long, food and chemical companies have exploited loopholes that allow them, not the FDA, to decide what is safe. This bill restores common sense to our federal food chemical regulations and will help ensure that the chemicals added to our food are safe,” said Melanie Benesh, Vice President of Government Affairs at the Environmental Working Group.

“For far too long, companies have utilized the GRAS loophole to secretly introduce new chemicals into our foods without even notifying the FDA,” said Anupama Joshi, Vice President of Programs, Center for Science in the Public Interest. “The Ensuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act of 2025 will finally close the GRAS loophole by requiring meaningful independent, science-based safety review by the FDA.”

Specifically, the Ensuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act would direct the FDA to:

· Require that new substances undergo appropriate review of safety before being used in foods.

· Reassess food substances that previously had GRAS designation.

· Require new food substance’s safety information be publicly available on the FDA website and subject to a 60-day public review period.

· Prohibit food substances that show evidence of carcinogenic, reproductive or developmental toxicity from receiving GRAS designation.

· Prohibit people with conflicts of interest from serving as experts in reviewing and evaluating scientific data regarding GRAS designations.

The Ensuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act is endorsed by the Environmental Working Group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and the Environmental Defense Fund.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.