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SAN FRANCISCO – Thousands of ingredients that go into food have been classified as safe by private industry alone, without any U.S. government oversight, according to a new report published Wednesday.

Since the early 1960’s, private companies and industry trade associations have determined at least 3,000 ingredients are safe, with no federal scrutiny, the study found. The ingredients include everything from artificially synthesized chemicals used in chewing gum to grape seed extract used in cheese and instant coffee.

The peer-reviewed report published in the Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety journal draws on research funded by the Pew Health Group, the health and consumer safety arm of the nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts.

“We don’t know the names of a lot of these chemicals because the companies have never told FDA or the public about them,” said Erik Olson, Pew Health Group’s director of food and consumer safety programs and one of the study’s authors. “Often there is not publicly available data on the potential health impacts because FDA has never evaluated them.”