Texas is the first state in the country to pass legislation requiring warnings on packaging for 44 common colorings and additives in food and beverages. The bill was signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott on the 22nd. The Washington Post reported on the 23rd that this bill may have a ripple effect in other states, and food companies may be forced to change their sales strategies.
The new Texas law may affect tens of thousands of products. If the ingredients contain 44 colorings and additives commonly used in baked products, candies and beverages, warnings must be added to the packaging. In addition to complying with the regulations and adding warnings on the packaging, food companies may also evaluate and adjust their recipes, or decide not to sell certain products in Texas. Some companies may sue the new Texas law.
Scott Faber, senior vice president of the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit food safety advocacy organization, said that states as large as Texas are beginning to require warnings on packaging, which is bound to have an impact on the entire market.
Republican-governed red states have actively cooperated with Health Secretary Robert. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) initiative to combat chronic diseases and children’s health problems, but food safety experts say the impact of the new Texas regulations is particularly significant and may force food companies to quickly adjust their sales products.
In the past, new food supply regulations on a national scale usually came from larger Democratic-governed blue states, such as California. The food industry has always regarded the Republicans as allies, and Republican congressmen and Trump’s first-term government officials have criticized the nutrition regulations for school lunches as “over-regulatory.” However, Republican-governed red states such as Texas and West Virginia have passed new food regulations this year.
Texas’s new law on food packaging with coloring and additive warnings has won support from state legislators from both parties, but the food industry has strongly opposed it on the grounds that it has little effect on overall food safety and puts food companies headquartered in Texas at a disadvantage.
