US and ultra-processed: The US Food and Drug Administration is preparing to consider a request that could strip “generally recognised as safe” status from dozens of processed, refined carbohydrate ingredients, unless manufacturers can demonstrate they are safe and not contributing to obesity and other health problems, according to comments from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. aired on 60 Minutes.
Kennedy, the head of the US Department of Health and Human Services, said the FDA will act on a citizen petition filed by former FDA commissioner David Kessler. The petition urges the agency to remove corn syrup and a broad list of other refined sweeteners, starches and related ingredients from the GRAS framework, an approach that historically has allowed some ingredients to enter the food supply without a full, formal government safety review when companies or experts deem them safe.
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In the interview, Kennedy argued that the current system leaves consumers with limited visibility into the safety of ultra-processed foods and said he wants to tighten the process, pending White House approval, so the government, not companies alone, is better positioned to evaluate risks. He stopped short of calling for blanket regulation of ultra-processed foods, framing the priority as ensuring the public understands what they are consuming.
Industry groups pushed back. The Consumer Brands Association said food companies already follow the FDA’s science- and risk-based approach to ingredient evaluation and described GRAS as important for innovation, while signalling willingness to work with federal officials on potential revisions aimed at transparency.
The development lands amid broader federal messaging that has recently urged Americans to cut down on added sugar and limit highly processed foods, reflecting a widening policy focus on diet-related chronic disease.
