Shoppers can now see what chemicals may be in their groceries thanks to a new FDA tool launched under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The searchable platform gives the public access to contaminant data that was previously buried in regulatory documents.
The database, known as the Chemical Contaminants Transparency Tool, collects information on pesticide residues, additives and other substances often found in processed and packaged foods. Users can look up individual food types and see how much of a given contaminant has been detected and what the FDA’s threshold is.
To increase transparency, today, FDA unveiled the Chemical Contaminants Transparency Tool, an online searchable database providing a consolidated list of contaminant levels that are used to evaluate potential health risks of contaminants in human foods. https://t.co/FgBhe3PUQP pic.twitter.com/iD8DoLYR9P
— U.S. FDA Human Foods Program (@FDAfood) March 20, 2025
Kennedy called the move a sign of the department’s commitment to “radical transparency.” His goal, he said, is to make sure Americans can make informed decisions about their diets and health.
Each listing in the database includes the name of the contaminant, the food it was found in, and what level triggers possible FDA action. These thresholds do not suggest safety, but instead are used to flag food that may require regulatory attention.
FDA officials clarified that many contaminants come from the environments where food is grown, transported or stored. Brenner, the acting commissioner, emphasized that no food group is immune from contamination and advised consumers to eat a wide variety of healthy options.
The new tool is part of a larger FDA program to simplify access to safety data and consolidate it in a public format. Industry members and researchers are also expected to use the platform.
The agency will continue monitoring the national food supply and plans to add new entries to the database as more testing results become available.
