The Illinois Food Safety Act is just one of several pieces of state legislation targeting controversial food additives that have been introduced since the passage of the precedent-setting California Food Safety Act. For more information about the recent wave of state bills on food additives, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) activities in an effort to get ahead of an inconsistent patchwork of legislation, and criticisms of these bills, read Food Safety Magazine’s comprehensive coverage of the topic. For even further insight, listen to two recent Food Safety Matters podcast episodes: Episode 162 featuring Brian Sylvester, J.D., Partner in Perkins Coie LLP's Washington D.C. office and former U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Attorney-Advisor, who discusses the nationwide ramifications and precedent set by the California Food Safety Act; and Episode 167 with James (Jim) Jones, FDA’s first Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, who discusses FDA’s work to get ahead of state regulations with a more ambitious chemical safety agenda, including how the proposed Office of Food Chemical Safety, Dietary Supplements, and Innovation will handle chemical safety assessments in the future after the unification of the Human Foods Program.