A new conservative group working to untangle state laws concerning food and personal care ingredients by setting a national standard for ingredient transparency officially launched Tuesday, Fox News Digital learned.
‘It is a simple concept to understand — Americans want to know that the ingredients in the products they’re buying for their families are safe,’ Americans for Ingredient Transparency leader and senior advisor Andy Koenig said in a statement to Fox News Digital. ‘This should not be a difficult standard to meet.’
‘Unfortunately, states are now implementing their own patchwork of contradictory ingredient rules that have caused widespread confusion among consumers,’ Koenig continued. ‘President Trump and his Administration are well-suited to make these determinations. Our goal is to cut through confusion and ensure everyone has access to clear information. Consumers want to know exactly what they are putting in and on their bodies. That is what we are working to achieve.’
Americans for Ingredient Transparency is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit comprised of ‘concerned Americans, policy experts, farmers, and business leaders’ who are advocating that the U.S. government establish a national standard for ingredients to apply ‘consistent, science- and risk-based principles to give Americans everywhere confidence in the safety of food, beverage and personal care products,’ Fox News Digital learned.
The group argued that states have made well-intended efforts to enact transparency laws as they relate to ingredients in food and household products, but that the moves have created confusion with an ‘ever-expanding patchwork of disjointed food, beverage, and personal care regulations.’
Americans for Ingredient Transparency specifically aims to work with Congress and the Trump administration to incorporate Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) reform, front-of-package labeling reform, and QR code reform into federal law.
GRAS reform would establish a ‘nationally uniform regulatory approach for new ingredients used in food and beverage products,’ according to the coalition’s website. The front-of-package labeling reform would guide consumers to healthier choices, while the QR code reform would provide consumers with a scannable code on products to review product information, according to the group’s website.
Julie Gunlock, a conservative policy advocate focused on nutrition and parenting, leads Americans for Ingredient Transparency with Koenig. She said in comment to Fox News Digital that the push for a national ingredient transparency standard is one rooted in protecting families and children.
‘As an American, but most importantly a mom, I know firsthand how important it is to trust the products we consume and bring into our homes,’ Gunlock said. ‘Families deserve commonsense and science-backed transparency they can rely on. That’s why a national standard for food safety and labeling is of the utmost importance to ensure every parent can make safe, informed choices for their children – because protecting our families starts with the truth.’
Americans for Ingredient Transparency is backed by a handful of food and consumer groups, Fox Digital learned, including the Consumer Brands Association, American Beverage Association, Corn Refiners Association, and FMI- The Food Industry Association.
‘Every American deserves to know what’s in their food, beverages, and personal care items – and that they’re safe no matter where they live,’ an ad for the group released Tuesday states. ‘It’s time to fix the patchwork. It’s time to pass a national uniform standard.’
The announcement comes as the Trump administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues its mission to ‘Make America Healthy Again.’ Kennedy has already addressed potential GRAS reforms, calling on the FDA in March to ‘explore potential rulemaking to revise its Substances Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) Final Rule and related guidance to eliminate the self-affirmed GRAS pathway.’
‘For far too long, ingredient manufacturers and sponsors have exploited a loophole that has allowed new ingredients and chemicals, often with unknown safety data, to be introduced into the U.S. food supply without notification to the FDA or the public,’ Kennedy said in March. ‘Eliminating this loophole will provide transparency to consumers, help get our nation’s food supply back on track by ensuring that ingredients being introduced into foods are safe, and ultimately Make America Healthy Again.’