Consumer Reports and Yuka Investigation Finds 1 in 4 Popular U.S. Foods Exceed Daily Safety Levels for Additives
核心洞察
A joint investigation by Consumer Reports (搜索) and Yuka (搜索) tested 40 popular U.S. packaged foods and found that 25% exceeded daily safety levels for additives in a single serving.
When measured against peer-reviewed scientific research thresholds, nearly two-thirds (25 of 40) of products exceeded at least one reference level of concern.
Five products containing Red 40 (搜索) exceeded California OEHHA daily safety levels for children, and 19 of 21 products tested for artificial sweeteners exceeded levels associated with increased risk of cancer (搜索), cardiovascular disease (搜索), or type 2 diabetes (搜索).
A joint investigation by Consumer Reports (搜索) and Yuka (搜索) has measured the levels of eight controversial additives in 40 widely consumed packaged food products in the United States, revealing that one quarter of the products tested contained additive levels, in a single serving, that exceeded daily safety levels identified by U.S. or European public health agencies. When measured against broader levels of concern identified in peer-reviewed scientific research, nearly two-thirds—25 of the 40 products—exceeded at least one reference level.
"Americans are eating products every day that contain additives at levels recognized as concerning by health authorities elsewhere in the world," said Julie Chapon, Co-Founder of Yuka (搜索). "Science has moved. U.S. regulation hasn't. That gap is what we measured."
Phil Radford, president and CEO of Consumer Reports (搜索), added: "People shouldn't have to navigate a food system where outdated standards leave families exposed to substances that science has raised new concerns about. This investigation highlights the need for food safety oversight that reflects how Americans actually eat today, especially children, who are often the most exposed."
Key Findings on Specific Additives
The products were tested by an ISO 17025-accredited laboratory, an international reference standard for analytical reliability. The investigation highlighted products with concerning levels of five additives: Red 40 (搜索), titanium dioxide, sucralose, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium (搜索) (Ace-K).
Of the 13 products analyzed containing Red 40 (搜索), five exceeded, in a single serving, the daily safety level for children identified by California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). Several studies indicate that chronic exposure to Red 40 may contribute to behavioral changes in children, including hyperactivity and attention disorders. Three of those products also surpassed the threshold identified for adults. A California law banning Red Dye 40 in food served in the state's schools based on the risks to children goes into effect on December 31, 2027.
For artificial sweeteners, 19 of the 21 products tested for acesulfame K, aspartame, and sucralose contained enough of at least one artificial sweetener in a single serving to exceed levels of concern associated with an increased risk of cancer (搜索), cardiovascular disease (搜索), or type 2 diabetes (搜索). These levels of concern are based on findings from peer-reviewed studies that analyzed the dietary habits of more than 100,000 French adults over 12 years. In sugar-free sodas from Pepsi and Coca-Cola, drinking just one-sixth of a can was enough to cross the level for acesulfame-K or aspartame.
The investigation also tested four products containing titanium dioxide, a synthetic whitening agent that was banned as a food additive in the European Union in 2022 over concerns about genotoxicity. One product stood out dramatically: Hostess' Donettes Mini Powdered Donuts contained 261 milligrams of titanium dioxide in a single serving, representing more than 760 times the combined amount found in the three other products tested containing the additive.
Children at Disproportionate Risk
Many of the additives flagged appear in products children consume daily, including cereals, flavored drinks, candies, and puddings. Because children weigh less, a single serving represents a much larger share of their daily exposure than it does for an adult.
James E. Rogers, PhD, director of food safety at Consumer Reports (搜索), emphasized that there is no reason to panic: "Though many exceeded the selected safety thresholds, none contained enough of a particular substance to cause immediate, severe harm." Policymakers generally design these limits conservatively, starting from the highest dose found to have no negative effects in animal studies and then applying a safety cushion.
A Regulatory Framework That Has Not Kept Pace
The U.S. does set limits on some additives, but many were established decades ago and have not been revisited since, even as new evidence of harm has emerged. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA (搜索)) is legally required to reevaluate the safety of all approved food additives and has published reassessments for over 240 such substances since 2009 alone. The U.S. has no equivalent mandate. For 38 percent of the 50 most commonly used additives Yuka (搜索) has flagged for health concerns, no quantitative U.S. enforceable limits exist at all.
The biggest driver of this gap is the "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS) pathway, which lets manufacturers introduce new substances into the food supply without independent FDA review and, in some cases, without notifying the agency at all. Nearly 99 percent of new substances added to U.S. food since the 2000s came in through GRAS, according to the Environmental Working Group.
The FDA declined to comment on the investigation's specific findings but said it has launched a stronger post-market review process for chemicals and additives already on the market.
The Limits of Current Safety Thresholds
The acceptable daily intakes established by the FDA and other regulators are typically derived from studies designed to identify the dose at which a substance causes no observable adverse effects in animals. This approach has produced safety thresholds that protect against acute harms like organ damage, cancer (搜索), and reproductive issues, but cannot as easily detect effects that emerge over years of habitual consumption at low doses—the kind thought to lead to chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
"Just because something doesn't meet the threshold for being harmful or toxic to human health in a traditional sense doesn't mean that it's healthy," said Allison Sylvetsky, PhD, a professor at the University of Rhode Island who studies artificial sweeteners.
None of the 21 products tested contained enough of any sweetener to exceed the acceptable daily intakes established by the FDA or EFSA (搜索), even for children. However, in large-scale studies published between 2022 and 2023, researchers analyzing the dietary habits of more than 100,000 French adults over 12 years found that consumption of these sweeteners at levels well below the current acceptable daily intake was associated with increased risks of cancer (搜索), cardiovascular disease (搜索), and type 2 diabetes (搜索). The studies were observational, so they can only identify associations rather than prove causation, but many researchers feel they provide valuable evidence on long-term effects given the large cohort size and extended monitoring period.
"The big population studies really are showing pretty clear signals of association of these products with adverse health outcomes," said Krieger of Healthy Food America. "The evidence is worrisome to me at this point, and it keeps accumulating."
Momentum for Regulatory Reform
At least 10 states have enacted legislation restricting additives linked to health issues since 2023. Laws taking effect in Arkansas, California, and West Virginia over the next two years will ban the general sale of such products statewide. Multiple bills currently before the House and Senate would require the FDA to reevaluate the safety of at least 10 substances in the food supply every three years.
Earlier this year, the FDA unveiled a legislative proposal that would require food additive manufacturers to conduct "post-market safety evaluations and reassessments" and provide the agency with additional data. It also debuted a new framework for reassessing the safety of substances currently in the food supply and launched reevaluations of the additives BHA, BHT, and ADA.
In a statement, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services press secretary Emily Hilliard said the new reassessment program will help "to ensure the Agency's limited resources are focused on the most significant public health risks" and "that chemicals in the U.S. food supply continue to meet safety standards as scientific knowledge evolves."
Consumer Reports (搜索) and Yuka (搜索) are calling on people to join them in urging the FDA to strengthen oversight of food additives and update outdated safety standards.