Federal inaction on food additives pushes states to act [View all]

Federal inaction on food additives pushes states to act
Dozens of bills in more than 15 states are targeting harmful additives, many of which have been ignored by the FDA

By Joy Saha
Staff Writer
Published April 11, 2026 9:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) When California passed its landmark food safety law in 2023, it did more than ban a handful of controversial additives — it stepped into a role the federal government had long failed to fill.

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Colloquially referred to as the “Skittles ban,” California’s law, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2027, bans the “manufacturing, selling, delivering, distributing, holding, or offering for sale” of food products that contain four harmful additives: BVO, potassium bromate, propylparaben and Red Dye No. 3. California became the first state to follow in the footsteps of the European Union, which outlawed the additives between 1990 and 2008. But its initiative was met with widespread backlash, namely from food groups and trade organizations that criticized the state for creating “confusion around food safety” — and challenging standards set by the Food and Drug Administration.

Just one month later, however, the FDA proposed revoking the authorization of BVO for use in food, citing a 2022 rodent study which found that dietary exposure to BVO at levels similar to average human consumption is toxic to the heart, lungs, fat tissue and thyroid. Then came the official ban, finalized on July 3, 2024, and effective August 2 that same year.

The overdue federal ban on BVO underscores a larger shift: in the absence of swift federal action, states are increasingly driving food safety policy in the U.S. That’s according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a public health nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., which put together an interactive map tracking states with active legislation regulating harmful food chemicals. Twenty-eight states are currently on the list.

“It may vary a little bit, state by state, but we are largely seeing a lot of the same chemicals being targeted,” says Melanie Benesh, EWG’s Vice President for Government Affairs. .....................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/04/11/federal-inaction-on-food-additives-pushes-states-to-act/