EDF Health

Broken GRAS: Companies ignore FDA draft guidance; Bias & conflicts of interest prevail in safety determinations

By Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals, Klara Matouskova, PhD, Consultant, and Maricel Maffini, PhD, Consultant

What Happened?

In our new study, we evaluated Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) notices—a total of 403 between 2015-2020that food manufacturers voluntarily submitted to FDA for review. Our goal was to determine whether industry was adhering to FDA’s Guidance on Best Practices for Convening a GRAS Panel.

The guidance was designed to help companies comply with the law and avoid biases and conflicts of interest when determining whether substances added to food are safe and recognized as such by the scientific community. FDA published a draft of the guidance in 2017 and finalized it essentially unchanged in December 2022.Infographic showing that a small group of only 7 people takes up 46% of available positions on panels that determine whether food chemicals can be labeled Generally Recognized As Safe.

Our study found that no GRAS notices followed the draft guidance. Specifically, we also found there were high risks of bias and conflicts of interest because the companies:

  • Had a role—either directly or through a hired third party—in
    selecting panelists that likely resulted in bias and conflicts of interest.
  • Depended on a small pool of experts in which seven individuals occupied 46% of panel positions. The seven often served together, further enhancing risk of bias.
  • Relied on panels that did not realistically reflect the diverse scientific community that evaluates chemical risks to public health—which is needed to comply with the law’s requirement that there be a “general recognition” within that community that a substance is GRAS.

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Posted in Broken GRAS, Conflict of interest, FDA, Food, GRAS, Industry influence / Tagged , , | Authors: / Comments are closed

FDA says “Cookware that exhibits any level of leachable lead upon testing is prohibited.”

What’s New?

For the first time, FDA has provided guidance on how to evaluate whether metal cookware is prohibited due to lead leaching into food.

As part of an investigation to find the source of elevated blood lead levels in some refugee children, the Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County, Washington [1] encountered high lead levels in certain imported [2] aluminum cookware, including pressure cookers and pots & pans. The program attempted to bring this to FDA’s attention in late 2019, and submitted a formal product report to FDA in October 2021, after several attempts to contact an FDA representative directly.

In May 2022, the Program published a journal article about its findings; a year later, staff emailed FDA again seeking guidance. On June 1, 2023, FDA responded with a letter [PDF, 166KB] providing a method (see below) to evaluate lead in metal cookware. The agency also said:

  • “The marketing in interstate commerce, including importation, of cookware that exhibits any level of leachable lead upon testing is prohibited.”
  • “Neither lead nor lead-containing materials (e.g., metals, solder) are permitted under FDA regulations for use in contact with food.”
  • The Program should “feel free to share this letter or any of its contents with Amazon.com, Inc.,[3] and any other firms involved in the marketing or sale of cookware.”[4]

Why It Matters

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Posted in FDA, Health hazards, Lead, Risk evaluation, Vulnerable populations / Tagged , , | Authors: / Comments are closed

Lead Cables: 66,000 miles overhead or underwater

Abandoned telecom cable leaching lead into fishing waters

Abandoned telecom cable leaching lead into Idaho fishing waters Photo: Monique Rydel-Fortner

What’s New?

A blockbuster Wall Street Journal (WSJ) investigation showed that lead-sheathed telecom cables are releasing toxic lead into water or surface soil. We are aware of more than 2,000 of these cables across the nation—and more than 300 of those pose a threat to community drinking water sources.

Recognizing the potential risks to public health, EDF, Clean Water Action, and Below the Blue asked EPA on July 17 to investigate potential harms and replace abandoned lead cables strung between telephone poles, as well as any that are accessible to children.

In response, AT&T reported that it has more than 66,000 miles of lead cables, most of which are the overhead type, with the balance running underwater. This is a stunning amount – enough to circle the earth 2.5 times!

Legislators are already demanding that telecom firms act, and EPA and the Department of Justice say they are reviewing the issue. In addition, New York Governor Kathy Hochul directed three key state agencies to investigate the risks. In response, the agencies sent letters to 246 telecom providers requesting their inventory of lead cables. I also appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box to explain the situation, EDF’s role in the investigation, and the cables’ potential risks. Read More »

Posted in Contamination, Drinking water, Health hazards, Health policy, Regulation, Risk assessment, Risk evaluation / Tagged , , , , | Authors: / Comments are closed

Broken GRAS: FDA’s lack of post-market oversight continues to create health risks

What Happened?

In April, a company called Prime Research Reports issued a press release in which it claimed FDA had approved THP (tetrahydropiperine) as a Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) substance “for use in food products.” There is no record that FDA has either reviewed or approved THP for use in food.

The report describes Sabinsa as a manufacturer of THP and as “a major player” in that market.[1] The substance, commercially known as Cosmoperine, is derived from a highly purified extract from black pepper; the extract, which is more than 95% piperine, is also made by Sabinsa and is marketed as BioPerine. The company describes piperine as an alkaloid present in black and long pepper.

Why It Matters

First, the statement is at odds with the available evidence: there is no record of FDA reviewing the safety of THP as a GRAS substance. The only interaction we are aware of was in 2013, when Sabinsa voluntarily asked FDA to review its GRAS determination for BioPerine to be used as a flavoring agent. A few months later, Sabinsa sent a letter asking FDA to stop reviewing the safety assessment (also known as a “cease to evaluate” request). After that, there does not appear to have been any interactions between Sabinsa and FDA regarding either of its products.

Second, the statement mistakenly claims that FDA approves GRAS substances when in fact the agency issues an opinion when a manufacturer requests a review by FDA. In its opinion letters, the agency makes clear that it is not an approval.

Third, a decade ago, we identified significant safety concerns with BioPerine, the only product that FDA has had an opportunity to review although, as previously noted, that review was halted when Sabinsa withdrew its request for review. As a result, FDA did not issue an opinion. In 2013, the authors, on behalf of the Natural Resources Defense Council at the time, sent a letter to FDA listing many issues with the GRAS notice that Sabinsa had withdrawn, including:

  • Lack of toxicology testing for the extract, which is more than 95% piperine, the active ingredient.
  • Failure to correctly interpret toxicity data in the literature, which showed that piperine is toxic to the immune system and causes reproductive and developmental toxicity in animals and cell-based studies.
  • Dismissal of human studies showing that piperine affects the metabolism of other compounds including medications by increasing their bioavailability.

Piperine is “reported to enhance the bioavailability of drugs, nutrients, and herbal extracts,” and Cosmoperine is marketed as a “bioavailability enhancer.”

The presence of these substances in food could potentially increase the bioavailability of medications in ways that healthcare professionals prescribing the drug could not anticipate. As a result, the drug might have adverse health effects from the higher effective dose.

Our Take

It is clear that BioPerine and the related Cosmoperine are highly concentrated extracts from black pepper that have been neither adequately tested nor adequately evaluated to determine their uses are safe.

We have published multiple articles describing the problems with the GRAS process. Among the most egregious of FDA’s failures are:

  • Allowing companies to withdraw a GRAS notice where the company realizes that FDA may not give it a favorable review;
  • Not proactively making the concerns publicly available[2] about the safe use of the substance;
  • Not conducting any apparent post-market oversight when FDA has concerns about the safety of a chemical.

In our Broken GRAS series we show many examples of chemicals of dubious safety that stealthily entered the food supply without any warnings.

In January, FDA Commissioner Califf announced a “new and transformative vision for the FDA Human Food Programs” These are important steps, but a real measure is ensuring that GRAS substances where FDA had safety concerns are subjected to strong oversight to protect American’s health by restricting the use of harmful chemicals such as THP.

Next Steps

We have alerted FDA to the claims and asked the agency to quickly investigate this product and its uses to protect consumers–especially those who might be using one of the medications that are affected by THP. FDA responded that it “will take a closer look and make sure this information is routed as appropriate.” We will continue to press FDA to act expeditiously to get products like this one off the market until the agency can verify its safety.

[1] We don’t know the relationship between Prime Research Reports and Sabinsa and have not heard back on a request for information.

[2] The information may be available through a Freedom of Information Act but that does not mean it is publicly available since only the requester gets the information.

Posted in Adverse health effects, Broken GRAS, FDA, Food, GRAS, Health hazards, Industry influence, Risk assessment, Risk evaluation / Tagged , , , , , , | Authors: , / Read 1 Response

Is it time to rethink “lead-safe” and “lead-free”?

By Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals Initiative, Environmental Defense Fund and Charlotte Brody, National Director, Healthy Babies Bright Futures

Key Message

The scientific consensus is that there is no known safe level of lead exposure, and that no environment or home is truly free of lead.

With a few exceptions, we think it is time to retire the terms “lead-safe” and “lead-free” from our vocabulary. It sends conflicting messages to the public, consumers, and decision-makers. And it may undermine our efforts to reduce children’s exposure to lead from any source.

Rationale

Collectively, we have dedicated over a half-century to protecting children from lead. During that time, we and other advocates have used different terms to communicate our goals. Often, we drew our terms from the federal government. For example:

  • “Lead-free” has been used by Congress since 1986 to define drinking water pipes with no more than 80,000 parts per million (ppm) of lead. It kept the term in 2014 when it changed the level from 80,000 to 2,500 ppm. Similarly, FDA issued guidance in 2010 allowing a “lead-free” label on pottery if it meets the agency’s limits on lead.
  • “Lead-safe” is in the title for HUD’s 1999 rule to reduce lead-based paint exposure in federally assisted EPA also refers to “lead-safe work practices” in its 2008 renovation, repair and painting (RRP) rule for residential property. In addition, EPA created a “lead-safe” logo in 2010 for certified RRP firms. And HUD, EPA, and CPSC use the term in their pamphlet given to millions of families renting or buying homes built before 1978.

As a result, terms like “lead-safe” and “lead-free” have been commonly used to describe community-wide initiatives, label houses on maps, describe the state of a house after remediation, and much more.

What does lead-free mean? It depends on who you’re asking and what you’re asking about. A contractor may understand the term to mean that a house meets the EPA definition of not having a lead hazard, but does the average resident understand the term the same way? Is it accurate to describe a house as lead-free if there is still lead in the drinking water? Or in the spices in the cabinets?

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Posted in Contamination, FDA, Lead, Public health, Unleaded Juice / Tagged , , , , | Authors: / Read 2 Responses

Flaws found in EPA’s lead pipe survey of states and water utilities

Deep Dive: Read our Deep Dives blog for an in-depth analysis on the data that drove the 2023 allocation of federal funding for lead service line replacements.

What’s New: EPA recently estimated there are 9.2 million lead service lines (LSLs) in the nation’s drinking water infrastructure based on information reported by states and water utilities. This was collected as part of a survey conducted every four years to understand drinking water infrastructure needs.

The agency estimated the number of LSLs for each state. Two had surprisingly high numbers: Florida with 1.2 million LSLs and Texas with 650,000.

After reviewing data EPA used to estimate each state’s totals[1], we believe that these two may have less than 100,000 LSLs each. If true, this means the country may actually have about 1.6 million fewer LSLs than originally thought – good news overall.

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Posted in Deep Dives, Drinking water, Lead / Tagged , , , , | Authors: , / Comments are closed