Self-affirmed GRAS Overview
With self-affirmed GRAS, a company convenes a panel of professionals to evaluate the safety of a specific ingredient and then informs the FDA (through a “GRAS Notification”) of their findings. With self-affirmation, the FDA then evaluates the information provided in the GRAS notification and responds to the company with their decision on whether or not they agree with the basis of GRAS determination. Nonetheless, the GRAS notification procedure involves a rigorous process and criteria to conclude that the use of a substance in food is safe.