2/15/2026: Generally Recognized As Safe; Youngest Survivors

On February 15, 2026, investigative journalists released a comprehensive report examining how the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) classification system has contributed to the proliferation of ultraprocessed foods in markets worldwide, while simultaneously uncovering remarkable survival stories of infants who endured the Mauthausen concentration camp during World War II. In the first segment of the report, journalists revealed how the GRAS designation, originally intended to ensure food safety, has been increasingly utilized by food manufacturers to bypass rigorous testing requirements for thousands of chemical additives. This has led to a dramatic increase in ultraprocessed foods dominating global supermarket shelves, with these products often containing numerous additives that critics argue may have long-term health consequences. The investigation found that between 2010 and 2025, the number of food products classified as ultraprocessed increased by over 60% in developed nations, coinciding with rising rates of obesity and related health conditions. The second part of the report featured extraordinary testimonies from now-elderly survivors who were infants or very young children when they were imprisoned in Mauthausen, one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps. These 'miracle babies,' as they have come to be known, defied staggering odds with survival rates estimated at less than 5% for children under two in the camp. Medical experts interviewed for the report analyzed factors that may have contributed to their survival, including hidden care from other prisoners, natural resilience of very young children, and sheer luck in the face of systematic extermination efforts.