FDA Denies Additive Petition for Partially Hydrogenated Oils in Foods, Gives More Time for Compliance With Ban

The Food and Drug Administration will not approve the use of partially hydrogenated oils as an additive in certain foods, but will give food companies additional time to comply with its recent ban on the ingredient, FDA said in a constituent update dated May 18. After finding in 2015 that partially hydrogenated oils are no longer generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and reclassifying them as a food additive (see 1506160024), FDA is now denying a petition from the Grocery Manufacturers Association to allow its use as an additive in some 60 categories of food. However, to allow for an “orderly transition,” FDA will give manufacturers of foods listed in the petition an additional year, until June 2019, before prohibiting the manufacture of such foods containing partially hydrogenated oils, and until June 2021 to sell such foods produced before June 2019. For foods not mentioned in the petition, FDA is not making any change to the June 2018 compliance date, but will allow distribution until June 2020 of foods containing partially hydrogenated oils that were produced before June 2018, FDA said.