Sarah Gonzalez

Who would have thought?

And the FDA just hadn't really looked at it.

It was a mass poisoning event.

A bunch of kids got severe diarrhea, developed welts and rashes, and the FDA and Congress realized they have no idea what chemicals are in our food or whether they're safe.

They decide to study this orange dye on rats, and a few rats die.

Not like died, died, like death die.

And this is not good.

If rats die during a food safety study, that is like a huge red flag.

In 1958, Congress passes the Food Additives Amendment, and that created one door, one path for getting a new additive on store shelves.

Now, chemical manufacturers and food companies have to do studies to prove that their chemical or additive is safe before they are used in food.

This is the current law of the land, okay?

It was taking the FDA a long time to approve every brand new ingredient.

Was it like months?

A year?

Oh, years.

Oh, years.

Yeah, that's red tape.

That feels annoying.

The long review process was likely hindering innovation.

There was so much bureaucracy and new foods just weren't making it on store shelves fast enough.