More than 115,000 people have signed onto a Consumer Reports-Yuka petition asking the FDA to limit additives in food and close the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) “loophole.”

Consumer Reports (CR) delivered the petition signatures today (Sept. 23) to the FDA inside an oversized Flamin' Hot Cheetos box — highlighting one of several popular products that exceeded what CR claims are safe daily additive levels.

In the case of the Cheetos, the culprit was a color additive. Flamin' Hot Cheetos had 10.79mg of red 40, exceeding limits of 4.9mg per day for adults 1.6mg for children, those limits identified by California officials in a 2021 health assessment, according to CR.

The "GRAS loophole" is a portion of existing food safety regulation that allows food and beverage companies to add new chemical ingredients to their products without obtaining approval from — or even notifying — the FDA.

The petition comes as the FDA's proposal to revamp the GRAS rule remains open for public comment through Dec. 9. CR claims the agency's proposal "preserves the core deficiencies of the existing system" because mandatory safety reviews would apply only to new ingredients or uses, leaving existing chemicals on the market unaddressed. CR will file formal comments before the deadline.

"The so-called notification requirement for new ingredients is weak and it leaves roughly 1,000 existing chemicals on store shelves unscrutinized,” said the CR announcement, “including toxic substances CR identified in our investigations that companies self-declared safe.”

The petition delivered today asks the FDA to establish a clear and transparent risk assessment methodology, regularly reassess the safety of food additives, better regulate the use of additives based on specific product categories, better account for the specific vulnerabilities of children and close the longstanding GRAS loophole.

The petition follows CR and Yuka’s recent investigation testing over 120 samples of 40 popular processed foods. Over a third contained more additives or contaminants in a single serving than CR food safety experts consider safe for daily consumption.