FOOD INGREDIENT SAFETY EVALUATION - GUIDELINES FROM THE UNITED-STATES-FOOD-AND-DRUG-ADMINISTRATION

Procedures for the safety evaluation of food ingredients must take into account the legal authority for requiring safety testing, the capability of various scientific methodologies to address questions relevant to the safety of food, the risks to be encountered if safety questions are not addressed, and the societal consensus on what safety means. The societal value of committing scientific resources to address particular questions must also be considered. This consideration requires not only scientific knowledge of what may constitute a hazard, but also an understanding of how we have come to accept our present system of requirements.