California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law a landmark ban on six chemical dyes in K-12 school lunches, one of an assortment of food-related bills to reach his desk.
The package from the legislature included AB 660, a first-in-the-nation bill banning sell-by dates on food packaging.
Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, D-Encino, proposed the school meal dye ban in AB 2316 after passing a bill last year that barred the sale and distribution of red dye No. 3, among other chemicals. In a press release from Newsom’s office, Gabriel cited California’s nation-leading effort to protect “our kids from dangerous chemicals that can harm their bodies and interfere with their ability to learn.”
With support from the Environmental Working Group and Consumer Reports, AB 2316 bars schools from offering foods that include Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 chemical dyes, which are linked to behavioral difficulties in children.
Critics say the bill circumvents the Food and Drug Administration's authority to regulate food dyes. John Hewitt, senior vice president of state affairs for the Consumer Brands Association, wrote that there was no scientific basis for the ban and that the decision could raise costs for schools and families.
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The move is “not the precedent we should be setting when it comes to feeding our families,” according to Hewitt, which is why the association is encouraging the FDA to “aggressively acknowledge its responsibility as the nation’s food safety regulator.”
The International Association of Color Manufacturers released a statement on Tuesday, saying the legislation disregarded evidence presented by the FDA and other international regulatory bodies that colors approved under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act are safe for consumption.
"Unfortunately, California’s approach undermines these globally recognized conclusions and does not offer a clear, scientific framework for evaluating the safety of these ingredients otherwise," IACM wrote.
Melanie Benesh, vice president of government affairs at EWG, told Agri-Pulse that it is the state’s right to decide what’s best for kids in California. She reiterated that exposure to chemicals can cause behavioral problems and impact learning, referring to California’s Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment’s 2021 report on synthetic food dyes.
Melanie Benesh“I just think that those arguments don't carry a lot of water,” Benesh said about the potential implementation cost, arguing that dyes are used mostly to make foods “more appealing to children.”
California lawmakers have taken the lead on food safety legislation since a delayed baby formula recall effort by FDA raised flags about its process. This prompted Gabriel’s 2023 “Skittles ban,” which was similar to AB 2316 and was also led by EWG and Consumer Reports.
“They're not essential to any of the foods that they're in,” she said. “And so it's a fairly small subset of foods that we're talking about that are part of the school lunches program."
In July EWG published an interactive map showing other food chemical regulation popping up across the country, charging that the FDA's "plan for post-market assessments remains unclear, and the process as a whole lacks transparency."
California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom has been on the forefront of the Farm-to-School initiative, working alongside California Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross to develop an F2S roadmap “to reimagine the way California feeds its children.” But nowhere are chemicals mentioned; rather, the focus is on healthy school lunch options.
“Through today’s legislation, we are taking essential steps to ensure all California children have access to healthy, delicious meals free from dangerous additives,” Siebel Newsom said in Saturday’s release. “This builds on the promises made through California Farm to School, which has provided millions of students with access to fresh, nutritious, and locally sourced school meals.”
The bill, promoted by California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, will go into effect Dec. 31, 2027.
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