Welcome to CRIS
The Center for Research on Ingredient Safety at Michigan State University (CRIS) is one of the few organizations in the world willing to tacklethe hard questions about ingredient safety in our everyday products.
Weight of Evidence
If you’ve ever wondered how scientists decide whether an ingredient is safe to eat, use, or breathe in, especially when different studies say different things, you’re not alone. One term experts…
Latest News
What’s the risk? Synthetic vs natural chemical ingredients
We see continued conversations about synthetic food ingredients, but what are they, and how do they differ from natural ones? In this post, we look at synthetic vs natural ingredients.
Top Takeaways:
Every ingredient is a chemical, even natural ones like water…
GRAS Loophole?
Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services leadership has suggested that the GRAS process needs to be changed. In this post, we provide context to help you better understand what GRAS is and isn't.
Top Takeaways:
GRAS stands for Generally Recognized…
Community Request – Diacetyl
In this community request, we look at diacetyl, a compound that’s caused safety confusion.
Top Takeaways:
Diacetyl is safe for ingesting in food and beverages.
Some vape and e-cigarette liquids contain diacetyl.
You should avoid inhaling diacetyl in all forms.
What is diacetyl?
Diacetyl…
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Current Research
Preservative tBHQ
New research in part funded by CRIS, now live in Frontiers Immunology, discusses the preservative ingredient tBHQ. In this post, we look at tBHQ and its impact on immune systems.
Working Group: Identification and Validation of Cell-based Assays for Developmental Immunotoxicity Testing
Overview:
It is increasingly clear that the global rise in inflammatory diseases and immune-mediated disorders can be traced back to early development.
The International Working Group on Alternatives to in vivo Developmental Immunotoxicity (DIT) Testing is working to identify and validate new models…