RFK Jr. Proposes Rule to Close Food Ingredient Oversight Loophole

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced two major food policy actions on Monday, August 10, 2026, as part of the Trump administration's Make America Healthy Again initiative. The actions include a proposed rule to close a long-standing loophole in food ingredient oversight and the submission of the federal government's first official definition of ultraprocessed foods for final review.

The proposed rule from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would require food manufacturers to notify the agency whenever they conclude that a substance added to human or animal food is Generally Recognized as Safe, or GRAS. For decades, companies have been permitted to make these safety determinations on their own without informing the FDA, a practice Kennedy said leaves regulators and the public in the dark. "We're proposing a rule that would end the practice of companies making GRAS determinations without notifying the FDA," Kennedy stated. "The proposal will give the agency greater visibility into the substances that are entering our food supply."

The rule would modernize a framework established by Congress in 1958. While the FDA has operated voluntary...