The FDA was unable to implement a mandatory GRAS review system, leading to companies self-certifying ingredients as GRAS without FDA oversight or public data disclosure.

“Congress and FDA tried really hard to say, well, maybe we we have a a mandatory grass system where we have to do it. We have to review everything. It became unwieldy. FDA basically said, we can't do it. They allowed companies to essentially self-grass, which means they can hire their own experts. Theoretically, they're supposed to meet the exact same safety standards as a food additive petition, right? But companies could do it on their own. They didn't have to tell FDA. They didn't have to tell anybody. They didn't have to put their data out in the public domain.”