The FEMA GRAS program began in 1959 with a survey of the flavor industry to identify flavor ingredients then in use and to provide estimates of the amounts of these substances used to manufacture flavors. The initial FEMA Expert Panel was established in 1960 beginning the Expert Panel’s evaluation of the safety of flavor ingredients that continues today. Then and now, the Expert Panel usually consists of six to eight members and over the years has been comprised of top experts in toxicology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, metabolism, and pathology.