Hidden Ingredients - What are 'Flavors' and 'Spices,' and are they Safe?

But the bulk of the responsibility falls on the FDA, which regulates the safety of flavors in all packaged foods and beverages and the labeling of flavors in all other packaged foods and beverages. [...] The FDA created a voluntary notification system for a company to inform the FDA, if the company chose to do so, that it had determined a chemical to be GRAS.11,12 Of course, due to the voluntary nature of GRAS notices, companies can (and do) simply choose not to notify the FDA at all and proceed with marketing the substance. [...] Even when a company voluntarily provides notice to the FDA of a GRAS determination, the agency can only review the information provided in the notice and raise questions about the safety determination; it does not independently perform a safety assessment or approve the substance’s use.12,18 Worse yet, the company may request for the FDA to “cease to evaluate” the notice at any time.19 Remarkably,. [...] National Toxicology Program (NTP).43,44 (Isoeugenol is discussed further in Chapter 2.) iv FEMA states, “As early as 1914, FEMA could ‘claim to occupy the important position of being the guardian of the interests of the flavoring extract manufacturing industry of the United States…[and]…in a position to shape the future course of the extract industry of the country,’ according to Thomas Lannen, FE. [...] S., the source of the natural flavor should be identified on food ingredient labels, “except when the source materials referred to would not be recognised in the flavour or taste of the food.”49 What this means, seemingly, is that if vanilla extract were added to the product, but consumers would be unable to detect the vanilla flavor in the food, then the source could be omitted.