HHS Releases Tool to Search for Chemical Contaminants in Foods

People can use the tool to find contaminants in bananas, carrots, milk, and other foods and drinks.

Then-secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the Senate Committee on Finance on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 29, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and one of its offices have released a new tool that lets people see the levels of contaminants in various foods, such as fruits and vegetables.

The tool is an online searchable database that lists contaminant levels. Unveiled on March 20, it lets users filter by contaminant type as well as food category, with examples including milk, pistachios, and bananas.

“HHS is committed to radical transparency to give Americans authentic, informed consent about what they are eating,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “This new Chemical Contaminants Transparency Tool is a critical step for industry to Make America Healthy Again.”

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Since being tapped by President Donald Trump to lead HHS, Kennedy has vowed to remove toxic chemicals from the U.S. food supply as part of an agenda dubbed Make America Healthy Again, also known as MAHA.

Trump established the Make America Healthy Again Commission in February, after Kennedy was sworn in. He directed the commission to, among other tasks, “assess the threat that potential over-utilization of medication, certain food ingredients, certain chemicals, and certain other exposures pose to children with respect to chronic inflammation or other established mechanisms of disease, using rigorous and transparent data, including international comparisons.”

Kennedy recently met with executives from some top food companies and told them he wanted them to stop using artificial dyes. HHS is also trying to end a rule that lets food companies use additives without formal regulatory authorization.

The new searchable contaminant tool does not impose any new requirements. It consolidates information already available in various documents, including guidance the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published previously. The FDA is an office inside the HHS.

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“Ideally there would be no contaminants in our food supply, but chemical contaminants may occur in food when they are present in the growing, storage or processing environments,” Dr. Sara Brenner, acting commissioner of the FDA, said in a statement. “Because many of the most nutritious foods can also contain contaminants, consumers should eat a variety of nutrient-dense foods across and within the main food groups of vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy and protein to help protect from possible exposure effects.”

The FDA said that it will keep monitoring the nation’s food supply through testing.

“Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, the FDA is committed to promoting radical transparency to make sure all Americans know what is in their food and Make America Healthy Again,” it said.