Dive Brief:
- A Texas bill could soon require food manufacturers using certain additives and artificial colors to add consumer warning labels saying their products contain ingredients “not recommended for human consumption.”
- The proposed legislation, currently awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott's signature, would require labels if a product contains an ingredient not recommended for consumption by international authorities in countries such as Australia, Canada, the European Union or the United Kingdom.
- The law would apply to food product labels developed or copyrighted on or after Jan. 1, 2027. Companies that violate the law could be subject to action from Texas’ attorney general, including fines of up to $50,000 a day.
Dive Insight:
Texas is the latest state looking to advance a federal “Make America Healthy Again” movement that pins the food industry as one of the primary culprits for a chronic disease epidemic in the U.S.
Close to 30 states have either introduced or passed legislation restricting food chemicals and synthetic dyes. In March, West Virginia banned food companies from selling products with seven commonly used additives and colors.
As states continue to advance potential restrictions, federal regulators have also entered the fray.
The FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services have asked the food industry to voluntarily transition away from artificial dyes before 2027, though some candy and snack manufacturers have expressed concerns about whether that timeline is feasible.
Food companies have sought more federal guidance on the transition to avoid a potential patchwork of state laws.
Erin Raden, senior director of state affairs for the Consumer Brands Association, told Texas lawmakers in February that ingredient restrictions should be “uniformly addressed at the federal level,” and that the state's restrictions “will increase consumer costs and confusion.”
“It takes an average of three years to make a major labeling change across a portfolio of products, and anything short of that will result in millions of dollars of lost packaging,” she testified at a public hearing.
Unlike California's Prop 65, which requires businesses to provide warnings around certain chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm, the Texas bill prevents consumers from taking private legal action if manufacturers violate the law. Instead, enforcement would be at the discretion of the state's attorney general.
Ingredients that are allowed in the U.S. but banned in Europe include potassium bromate, azodicarbonamide, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and brominated vegetable oil, according to the University of Kentucky. Red Dye No. 40 and titanium dioxide are also banned, while products with Yellow Dye No. 6 must carry a warning label.
Those ingredients, which have been researched and previously declared safe by the FDA, have been prohibited in other countries for their potential links to cancer or, in the case of titanium dioxide, damage to DNA.
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