Generally Recognized as Safe
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| Terms | |
|---|---|
| Foodborne illness | |
| Hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) • Hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls (HARPC) | |
| Critical control point | |
| Critical factors | |
| FAT TOM | |
| pH | |
| Water activity (aw) | |
| Bacterial pathogens | |
| Clostridium botulinum | |
| Escherichia coli | |
| Listeria | |
| Salmonella | |
| Vibrio cholerae | |
| Viral pathogens | |
| Enterovirus | |
| Hepatitis A | |
| Norovirus | |
| Rotavirus | |
| Parasitic pathogens | |
| Cryptosporidium | |
| Entamoeba histolytica | |
| Giardia | |
| Trichinella | |
Generally recognized as safe (GRAS) is an American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designation that a chemical or substance added to food is considered safe by experts, and so is exempted from the usual Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) food additive tolerance requirements. The concept of food additives being "generally recognized as safe" was first described in the Food Additives Amendment of 1958, and all additives introduced after this time had to be evaluated by new standards.
On January 1, 1958, the FDA established the Food Additives Amendment of 1958, with a list of 700 food substances that were exempt from the then new requirement that manufacturers test food additives before putting them on the market. On August 31, 1960, William W. Goodrich, assistant general counsel of the FDA, addressed the annual meeting (16 Bus. Law. 107 -1960-1961) of the FFDCA. The purpose of the meeting was the forthcoming March 6, 1961, effective date of the enforcement provisions of the "Food Additives Amendment of 1958", referred to as GRAS.
A GRAS determination can be self-affirmed or the FDA can be notified of a determination of GRAS by qualified non-governmental experts:
As of June 2015 (beginning in 1998), 572 ingredient or food substances have been filed with the FDA. These petitions, submitted by sponsors or manufacturers, are reviewed for the safety evidence contained in the document. FDA posts status of the review as either without further questions or the petition is withdrawn by the applicant.
For substances used in food prior to January 1, 1958, a grandfather clause allows experience based on common use in food to be used in asserting they are safe under the conditions of their intended use.
The FDA can also explicitly withdraw the GRAS classification, as it did for trans fat in 2015.
The Code of Federal Regulations, Revised as of April 1, 2010, includes (CFR) title 21 170.30(b) that provides general recognition of safety through scientific procedures requires the same quantity and quality of scientific evidence as is required to obtain approval of the substance as a food additive and ordinarily is based upon published studies, which may be corroborated by unpublished studies and other data and information.
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Wikipedia