On April 14, 2025, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed into law House Bill 2164, named the Arizona Healthy Schools Act, banning “ultra-processed foods” containing certain additives and dyes from being served in public schools, including foods served in school meals and foods sold in vending machines or by third-party vendors. Schools will be expected to comply with the legislation by the 2026–2027 school year.

“Ultra-processed foods” as defined by the legislation are any food or beverage containing:

1. Potassium bromate
2. Propylparaben
3. Titanium dioxide
4. Brominated vegetable oil (BVO)
5. Yellow dye 5
6. Yellow dye 6
7. Blue dye 1
8. Blue dye 2
9. Green dye 3
10. Red dye 3
11. Red dye 40.

It is worth noting that red dye 3 and BVO are no longer permitted for use in foods at the federal level, as  their authorizations were revoked by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January 2025 and July 2024, respectively.

The Arizona Healthy Schools Act was sponsored by state Representative Leo Biasiucci (R-5), who credited U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make American Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda as impetus for the bill, saying, “This is a public health issue. We now have overwhelming evidence that these chemicals [targeted in the bill] can contribute to everything from hyperactivity to increased cancer risk—yet they remain in school meals.”

California was the first U.S. state to buck federal food additives regulation and enact its own bans of many of the same chemicals listed in the Arizona Healthy Schools Act, with the passage of the California Food Safety Act and California School Food Safety Act in October 2023 and August 2024, respectively. The sponsor of both pieces of legislation, California Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-46), cited as the reasoning behind his bills the same toxicity concerns as voiced by Arizona Rep. Biasiucci. For example, the California Environmental Protection Agency published a report that the artificial colorants banned by the California School Food Safety Act can cause hyperactivity and other neurobehavioral effects in children. Some of the other non-colorant additives prohibited in Arizona and California’s bills have been banned in the EU and other nations due to possible carcinogenicity and hormone disruption. 

Since the passage of the California Food Safety Act and California School Food Safety Act, public concern over the safety of food additives has grown, fueled by and reflected in the MAHA movement. Other states have introduced their own bills similar to those passed in Arizona and California; for example, West Virginia passed its own legislation prohibiting certain colorants from school foods in March 2025. A similar bill is also being considered in Texas. Additionally, California Assemblymember Gabriel also recently introduced another bill to define and identify “ultra-processed foods” so that they can be phased out of state public schools.