The food industry currently operates under a system of self-policing where companies self-certify the ingredients and the amounts of ingredients in their products.

Posted by The Joe Rogan Experience, Nov 6, 2026Checked Nov 12, 2026

Polygraph verdictTrue

Sources: 4 support1 context
Said: 1 time·
Confidence: 65%

The Joe Rogan ExperienceNov 6, 2026

Multiple reliable sources from 2025 and 2026 confirm that companies can currently self-affirm that food ingredients are 'generally recognized as safe' (GRAS) without notifying the FDA, so the ingredient self-certification part of the claim holds as of 2026-11-06.

This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.

What was said

… And his mechanism that he found was really interesting because, you know, as you might know, the FDA, up until we just closed it, did not know it's in our food, doesn't know. It's been a full self-policing from the food industry, where they are able to self-certify both in the ingredients and, importantly, the amount of the ingredient having an impact or not. So you have all these things marketed kids with high sugar. They're actually legally responsible for having studies showing how the amount of sugar that they're recommending for, you know, daily use for kids actually doesn't harm kids. …

The Joe Rogan Experience · Nov 6, 2026· from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. Reuters reports that companies have the alternative to self-affirm the safety of a substance to the FDA without informing the agency, a system the HHS sought to end in 2025.[1]

Supports. NYU reports that the current FDA process allows the food industry to regulate itself by deciding for itself which ingredients are GRAS and whether to disclose them to the FDA.[2]

Supports. PBS (2026) states that companies can currently self-certify ingredients as GRAS, a pathway in place for nearly 70 years.[3]

Supports. AP (August 2026) states that currently companies can decide for themselves whether an ingredient is GRAS, with no requirement to notify or submit evidence to the FDA.[4]

Context. The FDA proposed rule announced in August 2026 would require notification and safety rationale submission for new ingredients, but it was only proposed and does not change the state of affairs on 2026-11-06.[4][5]

Context. The sources describe self-certification of ingredient safety, not of ingredient amounts or the amount's health impact as the post described it, so that element is not directly addressed.[1][2][3]