U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, introduced Better Food Disclosure Act (The Better FDA) to reform the Generally Recognized as Safe, or “GRAS” practice, under which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently allows food companies to independently certify the safety of new food ingredients and introduce them into commerce without publishing their ratings or informing the FDA.
The legislation, aimed at strengthening the FDA's oversight of ingredient disclosure and inspection, would require food companies to report to the agency the ingredients they use in their food supplies.
The legislation is a response to numerous government efforts to strengthen national food safety standards. Marshall's bill also aims to improve the FDA's post-marketing review process by allowing state government officials and other concerned Americans to petition the FDA to review the safety of ingredients currently found in food, such as food colorings, additives and other food substances that are not reported to the federal government.
“For too long, the FDA has failed to regulate our food industry to the standards the American people expect and deserve,” Marshall said. “The Better Food Disclosure Act is another big step toward making America healthy again. While we remain committed to working with everyone to create strong national ingredient safety standards, we cannot ignore the reality that our current federal oversight is inadequate—and states have stepped up efforts to hold both food companies and Washington accountable. If food truly is medicine, then it's time to treat it with the urgency and seriousness it deserves.”
The bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Kathy Britt, R-Ala., drew immediate backlash from two national consumer and environmental groups.
“We share Senator Marshall's diagnosis that the FDA has failed for decades to protect us from dangerous food chemicals such as potassium bromate, titanium dioxide, PFAS, BPA and other harmful toxins,” said Scott Faber, senior vice president for government affairs at the Environmental Working Group. “We respectfully disagree with his prescription.”
“Consumers and the FDA need more than a list of substances that food and chemical companies consider safe,” Faber continued. “Consumers deserve a robust chemical food safety system that prevents harmful substances such as carcinogens and reproductive toxicants from being added to their food.”
“Consumers deserve a safety net with strong data requirements so we can have confidence in the food we eat and feed our families every day. Consumers expect the FDA to be in the driver's seat when it comes to making safety decisions, not to shy away from authorization,” Fabir added. “And consumers expect regular reassessment of chemicals of concern, as well as resources that will allow the FDA to do its job. Mandatory notification to the FDA is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough to fix our broken food system.”
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that has been working on health and environmental issues since 1993. EWG is concerned that the Marshall Bill falls short of what is needed to address the regulatory gap that allows food ingredients to be placed on the market that have not been sufficiently tested.
The Better FDA Act comes as the agency has cut staff by about 19 percent and is not providing new funding, according to EWG. However, sponsors remain enthusiastic about the bill, saying:
- During the 2025 session, 108 bills were introduced in state legislatures in 17 states addressing ingredients, SNAP, nutrition education, ultra-processed foods, and physical activity in schools.
- Seven bills were passed in 5 states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
- The Senate bill seeks to close the GRAS loophole, which many food safety experts and government officials have long advocated.
Senator Rick Scott said, “Americans deserve to know that the food they put on their table is safe and meets the highest standards, and greater transparency is a key and important part of that. Our Better Food Disclosure Act strengthens FDA oversight and transparency of ingredients in everyday foods, helping families make informed decisions to protect themselves and their families. I am proud to join Senator Marshall in this effort as we work with President Trump and Secretary of State Kennedy to make America healthy again.”
“The Better FDA Act provides a new and much-needed level of transparency for consumers. A large part of the Make America Healthy Again movement is giving Americans the opportunity to know what's in their food. This legislation helps lift the lid on hidden ingredients, establishes a stronger GRAS process, and helps move our country toward healthier, longer lives,” said Senator Britt.
Leaders of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement also supported the FDA Better Act.
“It's inspiring to see members of Congress standing up to Big Food. We are entering a new era in which the health of families comes before corporate profits,” said Vani Hari, founder of Food Babe and Truvani.
“For too long, the food sector has been free to add industrial additives to foods without public notice or oversight. Closing this 'GRAS loophole' is critical to ensuring that Americans know what's in our food and why, and begin eliminating the most questionable compounds,” said Dr. Mozaffarian, MD, Director of the Institute of Food and Medicine.
Others, such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), are unconvinced, calling the proposed program “Better.” The FDA is acting like a trap.
CSPI says the Better FDA bill “is like a lobster trap: chemicals are easy to get through by default, but banning them requires a ton of procedures to ensure that an exhausted FDA will struggle to take effective action. This bill is not meaningful chemical safety reform. It is a trap to kill the chemical safety movement.”
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