To better understand FDA’s regulations of adhesives used in food packaging, let’s start with a few definitions. FDA defines a food additive as “…any substance the intended use of which results, or may reasonably be expected to result…in its becoming a component or otherwise affecting the characteristics of any food,” unless it is exempted from the definition of a food additive [e.g., a color additive, generally recognized as safe (GRAS), prior sanctioned]. There are three types of food additives (direct, secondary direct and indirect), which are discussed later in this article. Such food additives require FDA premarket clearance.