1958 - Consumer Protection

Consumer Protection

A Food Additives Amendment to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938 approved by Congress September 6 permits no additives other than those used widely for many years and "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS list) unless the FDA has agreed after a thorough review of test data that the new additive is safe at the intended level of use (see 1956). The amendment's Delaney "cancer clause" states that if any amount of any additive can be shown to produce cancer when ingested by humans or test animals, no amount of that additive may be used in foods for human consumption. Rep. James J. Delaney (D. N.Y.) has inserted the clause (see cyclamates, 1969).