By Mat Gulick,
FEMA Communications Director
We all love tasty foods and drinks, right? Of course we do; otherwise, we wouldn’t buy them for ourselves and our families. But how do we know the flavor ingredients used in our favorite foods and drinks are safe to consume?
The FEMA GRASTM Program, that’s how. We’ve talked about the program in the past and have provided some information about the group of independent experts (the FEMA Expert Panel) who evaluate flavor ingredients to determine whether they are generally recognized as safe, or “GRAS,” under conditions of intended use. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has held the program in high regard, and the Expert Panel’s findings are recognized internationally. Just a few weeks ago, Tamar Haspel, writing for the Washington Post, noted how the FEMA Expert Panel has protocols for avoiding conflict-of-interest issues. At FEMA, we like to say the FEMA GRASTM Program is the “gold standard” of GRAS evaluation programs.
But let’s go back for a moment and examine a comment I just made – “under conditions of intended use.” This is a key element of the FEMA GRASTM program and requires a bit more discussion. The FEMA Expert Panel evaluates flavor ingredients under their conditions of intended use in human food, including beverages and chewing gum. This is an important aspect of the FEMA GRASTM program because the members of the Expert Panel evaluate and determine the safety of these ingredients through ingestion only (ie: eating or drinking).
Why is this distinction so important? Because some flavors are being used in other consumer products, specifically “e-cigarettes” (“electronic cigarettes”). E-cigarettes are relatively new products that may resemble tobacco cigarettes; users inhale a vapor that includes a mix of ingredients typically including nicotine, flavor, and other materials.
Remember, the FEMA Expert Panel only evaluates flavor ingredients for use in foods and drinks, not for use in e-cigarettes or other products where the flavor ingredient is inhaled. What this means is that e-cigarette manufacturers should not state or suggest that the flavors they use are safe in e-cigarettes because they are FEMA GRASTM. The FEMA Expert Panel has not evaluated the safety for that particular use and would not consider that use to be generally recognized as safe.
At FEMA, we understand how important the safety of flavor ingredients is to all consumers, which is why it is important to be clear about what FEMA GRASTM status means. If you want more information about the FEMA GRASTM program and why FEMA GRASTM status does not apply to flavors used in e-cigarettes, check out our detailed statement over on the FEMA website.
The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association of the United States (FEMA) was founded in 1909 and is the national association of the U.S. flavor industry. FEMA’s membership is comprised of flavor manufacturers, flavor users, flavor ingredient suppliers, and others with an interest in the U.S. flavor industry. The association is committed to ensuring a safe supply of flavor ingredients used in foods and beverages enjoyed by billions of men, women, and children around the world.