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U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he will be requiring “proof of safety data” from Dunkin’ and Starbucks in his latest push for the Make America Healthy Again movement and scrutiny of food and beverage ingredients.“We’re going to ask Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks, ‘Show us the safety data that show that it’s okay for a teenage girl to drink an iced coffee with 115 grams of sugar in it,’” Kennedy said at the Austin Eat Real Food Rally last week. “I don’t think they’re gonna be able to do it.”The event was hosted by MAHA Action, a political group that supports Kennedy’s agenda. The Health and Human Services Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier this month on 60 Minutes, Kennedy said the Food and Drug Administration is considering petitions to remove safety status for carbohydrates if companies cannot prove their safety, and will look into a citizen petition to remove sweeteners and starches categorized under GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe). The GRAS category allows certain ingredients to be exempt from premarket approval for food additives. The category has expanded since it was put in place in 1958, when it was designated mainly for ingredients with a long history of safe use, like salt and vinegar, and now includes ingredients that are also common in ultra-processed foods. The citizen petition, proposed by pediatrician and former FDA commissioner David Kessler, argues that companies should provide evidence on the safety of ingredients in food. “To revoke GRAS status, FDA does not have to prove that the processed refined carbohydrates used in industrial processing are unsafe, but that their safety has not been established,” the petition reads. Gov. Maura Healey quickly responded to Kennedy’s announcement by posting an altered version of the Texas “Come and Take It” flag, with an iced Dunkin’ drink instead of a cannon. Dunkin’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he will be requiring “proof of safety data” from Dunkin’ and Starbucks in his latest push for the Make America Healthy Again movement and scrutiny of food and beverage ingredients.
“We’re going to ask Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks, ‘Show us the safety data that show that it’s okay for a teenage girl to drink an iced coffee with 115 grams of sugar in it,’” Kennedy said at the Austin Eat Real Food Rally last week. “I don’t think they’re gonna be able to do it.”
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The event was hosted by MAHA Action, a political group that supports Kennedy’s agenda. The Health and Human Services Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this month on 60 Minutes, Kennedy said the Food and Drug Administration is considering petitions to remove safety status for carbohydrates if companies cannot prove their safety, and will look into a citizen petition to remove sweeteners and starches categorized under GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe).
The GRAS category allows certain ingredients to be exempt from premarket approval for food additives. The category has expanded since it was put in place in 1958, when it was designated mainly for ingredients with a long history of safe use, like salt and vinegar, and now includes ingredients that are also common in ultra-processed foods.
The citizen petition, proposed by pediatrician and former FDA commissioner David Kessler, argues that companies should provide evidence on the safety of ingredients in food.
“To revoke GRAS status, FDA does not have to prove that the processed refined carbohydrates used in industrial processing are unsafe, but that their safety has not been established,” the petition reads.
Gov. Maura Healey quickly responded to Kennedy’s announcement by posting an altered version of the Texas “Come and Take It” flag, with an iced Dunkin’ drink instead of a cannon.
Dunkin’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
