Why can I buy Halloween candy that would be banned in other countries?

Explain It to Me

Listener Sommer calls in to ask why she can buy foods in her grocery store that other countries have banned. Trying to figure out what all the chemicals and dyes in her food might do to her has left her with one question: “Don’t you care about us?” This week on Explain It to Me, host Jonquilyn Hill gets some answers (and a scary story about orange dye!) from Vox producer Kimberly Mas and the Environmental Working Group’s Melanie Benesh.

After taping this episode, we heard back from the FDA:

“Some ingredients considered GRAS may not have been previously assessed by FDA but may be assessed as part of the post market program if information becomes available suggesting that an FDA assessment is warranted. We can and will do what is within our authority, but Congress ultimately sets our authorities. The law does not require companies to submit their GRAS conclusions or related dossiers to FDA. However, industry is responsible for ensuring the safety and regulatory status of the ingredients they add to food,” an FDA spokesperson told us. “We can challenge a GRAS conclusion, and we have determined that the uses of certain ingredients are not GRAS and that they are unapproved food additives … Only Congress can change the law to require FDA review of all food ingredients.”

Election Day is less than a week away. To commiserate, we’re producing a special episode featuring your election-related questions and experiences, from heading to the polls to processing the results. So save our number now 1-800-618-8545 and call us next week with what you suddenly need to know.

Read More:

Why food recalls are everywhere right now

Credits:

Jonquilyn Hill, host

Sofi LaLonde, producer

Cristian Ayala, engineer

Anouck Dussaud, fact-checker

Carla Javier, supervising producer

Jorge Just, editor

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