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The sneaky way companies get new chemicals into our food

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The sneaky way companies get new chemicals into our food

Planet Money

1 DAYS AGO
Planet Money

Planet Money

1 DAYS AGO
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

99% of chemicals in our food right now were added without FDA approval. Many were added in secret, through a sneaky loophole built into the 1958 Food Additives Amendment. It was supposed to require FDA approval for new additives. But food companies and ch...

Highlights

This episode of Planet Money uncovers a massive loophole in the U.S. food safety system that allows companies to add new chemicals to our food without FDA approval. The story begins with a linguistics professor's severe illness after eating a lentil product, which leads to the discovery of a secret process that has allowed thousands of untested ingredients into the food supply.
00:01
She describes herself as exuberant but recently feels fragile like an orchid.
05:17
System designed to react only after harm occurs
14:24
99% of food chemicals are added this way
26:12
The honor system discourages rigorous testing.
35:41
The current GRAS system is too broad.

Chapters

A linguistics professor's painful reaction to a lentil product leads to two ER visits.
00:00
How a new flour additive caused hundreds of severe health issues without any prior safety review.
05:17
The 1958 law that was supposed to protect us, and the 'secret GRAS' loophole that gutted it.
11:22
Why a terms of service clause gave victims' lawyers more power than the FDA to get answers.
20:11
The fight for reform: a $32 million settlement and the debate over closing the GRAS loophole.
32:18

Transcript

Speaker 1: This is Planet Money from NPR. Sarah Gonzalez: If there's one way that Carol Reedy has always thought of herself, it's exuberant. Carol Reedy: Exuberant. Exuberant. Yes. Even on my tired days, I'm exuberant. Sarah Gonzalez: Now, some people m...