Data Sources & References

The FDA's definitive inventory of all substances added to food in the United States. Each entry includes the substance name, CAS number, regulatory status (GRAS, food additive regulation, prior-sanctioned, or no affirmative GRAS determination), and usage categories. This database is the primary source for GRAS status and regulatory citations on every additive page.

Consumer and manufacturer adverse event reports submitted to the FDA's Food Adverse Event Reporting System via the OpenFDA public API. Each report may reference one or more ingredients. We surface the report count for any additive that appears with statistically notable frequency. High adverse event volume is a secondary signal only — it does not by itself determine a rating.

FDA food enforcement actions and recall records published through the OpenFDA public API. We use this dataset to identify additives that appear as a contributing factor in recall events. Recall involvement is one of four inputs in the rating methodology, weighted proportionally to the severity classification (Class I, II, or III) of each recall.

The European Food Safety Authority's open chemical hazard database, containing toxicological reference values and safety assessments for substances evaluated across all EU food safety legislative frameworks. Downloaded as a structured Excel export from Zenodo. Used to determine EFSA authorization status, Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) values, and EU-specific safety conclusions.

The primary EU legislative instrument governing food additives across all 27 EU member states, plus EEA countries. Annex II contains the complete list of authorized food additives and their permitted uses. A substance not listed in Annex II is de facto prohibited in the EU. This regulation is used to determine EU legal status for every additive and to identify discrepancies between FDA and EU authorization.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer publishes independent expert evaluations of carcinogenic risk. Classifications are Group 1 (carcinogenic to humans), Group 2A (probably carcinogenic), Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic), and Group 3 (not classifiable). Where an IARC classification exists for an additive, it is displayed on the detail page and factored into the rating as a secondary signal. IARC is an agency of the World Health Organization.