California School Food Safety Act

December 6, 2024

Spotlight on cancer-causing food additive as advocates demand FDA ban Red Dye 3

By Shannon Kelleher

In the waning days of the Biden administration, a long-fought battle over a cancer-causing food additive is again in the spotlight as consumer advocacy groups and lawmakers demand federal regulators ban Red Dye No. 3, a chemical used to give popular candies, foods and drinks their cherry-red colors.

The issue took center stage Thursday at a US Senate hearing where lawmakers grilled Jim Jones, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) deputy commissioner for human foods, over the issue.

“Red 3 has been known to cause cancer in cosmetics but we still allow it to be put in our food. I don’t understand that,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville said in the hearing. “If we know something is deadly for anybody that ingests it how do we continue to just study that and not say hey, enough is enough?”

Industry studies linked Red Dye 3 to cancer in rodents more than 30 years ago, and public health groups have spent years lobbying food companies and regulators to get the chemical out of foods.

Two years ago, two dozen organizations and scientists submitted a petition to the FDA demanding a ban, citing a 1990 FDA conclusion that the chemical causes cancer when fed to rats.

Last month, 23 members of Congress sent a letter to the FDA also calling for a ban, saying the FDA “should act quickly to protect the nation’s youth from this harmful dye.” The letter noted Red Dye 3 has been banned or mostly banned in Europe, Australia and New Zealand and California has a ban on the dye in food taking effect in 2027.

“Thirty-four years of inaction is far too long,” the letter states.

In Thursday’s hearing, Jones said the agency was “hopeful” it would “be acting on that petition” in the “next few weeks.”

It is “long past time,” for the FDA to ban the dye, US Rep. Frank Pallone said in a Dec. 5 letter to the FDA. “With the holiday season in full swing where sweet treats are abundant, it is frightening that this chemical remains hidden in these foods that we and our children are eating.”

August 30, 2024

California lawmakers pass bill banning food dyes in schools

By Shannon Kelleher

California lawmakers this week passed a bill banning schools from serving foods with six artificial dyes linked to neurobehavioral problems in children.

“[The bill] would not ban specific foods or products, but rather encourage companies to make minor modifications to products sold in California and could help prompt a nationwide transition to safer alternative ingredients,” says a press release from the office of California Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, who introduced the California School Food Safety Act (AB 2316) in March.

Governor Gavin Newsom has until the end of September to sign or veto the bill, which passed the state legislature on Thursday with bipartisan support.

The legislation is likely to have sweeping impacts throughout the US, since manufacturers are unlikely to make one version of a food product for California and another for other states, Gabriel noted at a press conference earlier this month.

AB 2316 comes on the heels of the California Food Safety Act (AB 418), the so-called “Skittles bill” signed into law last year that will ban brominated vegetable oil, Red Dye No. 3 and other toxic food additives beginning in 2027. Other states, including Missouri, Washington, New York and Illinois, have already moved to introduce similar bills.

California’s newly passed bill would ban Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5, Yellow Dye No. 6, Blue Dye No. 1, Blue Dye No. 2 and Green Dye No. 3 from California public school foods during regular school hours. Manufacturers use the controversial dyes to give some desserts, beverages and cereals their bright colors, but the additives don’t affect how the foods taste.

August 7, 2024

California bill to ban food dyes in schools may have nationwide impact

By Shannon Kelleher

A bill that would ban six food dyes linked to childhood learning problems from meals served at California public schools is close to passage and could bolster efforts to make foods safer across the US, according to proponents.

The measure has garnered strong bipartisan backing and is likely to reach the governor’s desk by the end of August, California Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel said at a press conference on Tuesday. Gabriel introduced the California School Food Safety Act (AB 2316) in March.

AB 2316 advanced through the Senate Health Committee last month and passed the California Senate Education Committee in June with a unanimous vote. The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to decide next week whether to send it to the Senate Floor, according to Gabriel.

The dyes in question are used to give some beverages, desserts and cereals vibrant colors but don’t impact how the products taste. They account for two-thirds of the certified color additives the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved for use in food.

Due to the nature of the supply chain, manufacturers are unlikely to make one version of a food product for California and a different version for other states, so the measure could have a nationwide impact, Gabriel said.

The bill is not a ban on any foods, he said, because there are readily available substitutes for each additive and the same products are available in Europe without the harmful chemicals.