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On Monday, Giannoulias joined various groups to speak about an
upcoming Food and Drug Administration hearing about concerns
over food additives.
“The food we eat and the beverages we drink often contain
chemicals used as food additives linked to not only health
issues in adults but to developmental cognitive and other major
health concerns in infants and children,” Giannoulias said.
Thomas Galligan with the Center for Science in the Public
Interest said the upcoming FDA hearing could show the agency is
taking a step in the right direction, but worried about
potential loopholes in protecting the food supply from dangerous
chemicals.
“Companies are making safety decisions in secret and FDA cannot
ensure the safety of our food supply if it does not know what is
in our food,” Galligan said.
Giannoulias said the FDA knew for decades that brominated
vegetable oil would be harmful if allowed to remain in use.
“But it was allowed to remain in use at the request of food
manufacturers,” Giannoulias said. “It took the agency more than
50 years after it learned of its health concerns before it was
finally banned earlier this year.”
Melanie Benesh with the Environmental Working Group said it’s
taking the FDA too long to address other dangerous chemicals.
“For example, the FDA determined that Red Dye 3 is a carcinogen
all the way back in 1990 and promised at that time to restrict
it in food. But 34 years later it remains legal,” she said.
Giannoulias has advocated for an Illinois law to prohibit the
use of certain chemical food additives, but the measure has yet
to advance.
The Illinois Manufacturers Association has gone on record that
the well-intentioned legislation would set a dangerous precedent
by usurping the role of scientists and experts at the FDA.
The FDA will hold a public meeting Wednesday. It’s expected the
agency will discuss development of a systematic process for
conducting post-market assessments of food chemicals. |
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