Amid Trump Cuts to the FDA, Senators Markey and Booker Introduce Legislation to Get Dangerous Chemicals Out of Food

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Washington (July 17, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) today introduced theEnsuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act, legislation that would direct the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to strengthen the Substances Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) Rule. The GRAS Rule acts as a loophole that is currently used by companies to avoid getting pre-market FDA approval for more than 1,000 food chemicals. As a result of this rule, nearly99 percentof new food chemicals are able to be added to products without triggering any FDA oversight.
TheEnsuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Actwould prevent chemicals that have been linked to cancer, developmental toxicity, or reproductive toxicity from being categorized as GRAS. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are cosponsors of the legislation.“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.”
“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.”
“TheEnsuring Safe and Toxic Free Foods Actis 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 theEnsuring 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. “TheEnsuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Actof 2025 will finally close the GRAS loophole by requiring meaningful independent, science-based safety review by the FDA.”Specifically, theEnsuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Actwould direct the FDA to revise the GRAS Rule to include provisions that:
TheEnsuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Actis endorsed by the Environmental Working Group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and the Environmental Defense Fund.Senator Markey has long been an advocate for food safety and a strong FDA. In 2024, Senator Markey and Senator Bookerurged the agency to ban phthalates—chemicals that affect the durability, flexibility, and transparency of plastics—from use in food contact materials (FCM) due to their effect on brain development in infants and children.
In 2016, he called on the FDA to take steps to strengthen the GRAS rule and update guidance to mitigate conflicts of interest for outside experts evaluating GRAS substances. In 2018, he sent the FDA a letter about reports thatJohnson & Johnsonhad concealed information about baby powder products containing carcinogenic substances from regulators and the public. In 2019, Senator Markeysent a letterto the FDA, urging it to establish mandatory standards to strictly limit heavy metals in children’s food, including fruit juices.
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