A was dubbed " " by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( ) in a groundbreaking new report last week — the conclusion of a years-long investigation into the substance.
Tara flour, a relatively new plant-based protein made from the seeds of Tara spinosa, a South American tree, "does not meet the Generally Recognized as Safe (or GRAS) standard and is an unapproved food additive," the FDA stated in on Wednesday. Without a GRAS certification, an ingredient or additive is considered adulterated, meaning that it can't be used legally in foods in the U.S.
The FDA explained, "Uses of food ingredients that are not GRAS, not authorized as food additives and not excepted from the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act's food additive definition are unapproved food additives. Food that is, or contains, an unsafe food additive is considered adulterated." In 2022, the FDA investigated Daily Harvest after "400 adverse event reports" were made, detailing illnesses caused by their leek and lentil product, which contains the ingredient.
Daily Harvest promptly recalled the product and conducted its own analysis, identifying tara flour as the "possible contributor to the illnesses." But there isn't enough research to support that, the FDA said as it opted to err on the side of caution anyway by removing the product from the GRAS list. "To date, the FDA has found no evidence that tara flour caused the outbreak; however, it did prompt the agency to evaluate the regulatory status of this f.
