🌊 RIP, Supplement Industry?

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By Rob McGreevy

In 1958, Congress enacted a subtle piece of legislation with major implications: The Food Additives Amendment. 

Within this policy was the GRAS, or “generally recognized as safe” program, which let food and nutrition companies self-certify the safety of their own products without submitting their data to the FDA. Originally intended as a safety valve to prevent the FDA from being overburdened by redundant certifications for slight variations of common ingredients, GRAS has emerged as a lightning rod. Proponents say it enables innovation and helps the food industry; critics say it has mutated into a loophole for corporations to make an end-run around consumer protections.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. belongs to the latter camp: “For far too long, ingredient manufacturers and sponsors have exploited a loophole that has allowed new ingredients and chemicals, often with unknown safety data, to be introduced into the US food supply without notification to the FDA or the public,” he tweeted in March. 

RFK Jr. proceeded to order the FDA commissioner to explore modifying GRAS, including by eliminating “the self-affirmed GRAS pathway.” HHS said RFK Jr.’s goal is to “enhance the FDA’s oversight of ingredients considered to be GRAS and bring transparency to American consumers.” In essence, he wants the government to have greater control over which ingredients are safe and healthy, potentially affecting everything from herbs and extracts to fillers and preservatives.

For the supplement industry, the implications are massive. 

Simply put, supplements are a dietary device meant to augment, add to, or complement nutrients like vitamins and minerals or dietary enzymes that one should be getting from a balanced whole foods diet. But are supplements safe? How are they actually regulated? And will the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) reform only take unsafe chemicals out of food products, or will it destroy a booming $200B industry? That’s the subject of today’s deep-dive.

Editor’s Note

What do you all think about this? Do you take supplements? Do you worry that the government will make it harder to access them, or that they will make it safer? We’re curious what you all think. Let us know by replying to this email. 

That’s all for today. If you missed our recent stories, find them below. As always, thanks for reading Roca.

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We’ll be back tomorrow.
—Max and Max