Following the California Food Safety Act’s precedent, Illinois Senate Bill 2637, dubbed the Illinois Food Safety Act, aims to ban brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and red dye 3 from foods sold in the state.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we are joined by Brian Sylvester, J.D., Partner in Perkins Coie LLP's Washington D.C. office and former U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Attorney-Advisor, to talk about the nationwide ramifications and precedent set by the recently passed California Food Safety Act banning four major food additives in the state.
Due to concerns about harms to human health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed to revoke the regulation that authorizes the use of brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in food. The agency also announced its intent to review three other possibly toxic, FDA-regulated food additives that were recently banned in the state of California, and announced that a decision about red dye 3 is forthcoming.
The California Food Safety Act—statewide legislation that bans the sale of foods containing red dye 3, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, and propylparaben—was signed into California law by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 7, 2023.
California Assembly Bill 418, also called the California Food Safety Act, which aims to prohibit four food additives from being used or sold in the state due to associated health risks, recently passed the state Senate and is waiting to be signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom.
Titanium dioxide has been removed from the list of chemicals that would be banned as food additives under California Assembly Bill 418, which was recently named the California Food Safety Act.
A bill proposed in the New York Senate seeks to ban the use of five “five of the most pervasive and harmful food additives” in the state: brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propyl parabens, red dye 3, and titanium dioxide.
On May 15, 2023, the California State Assembly passed first-of-its-kind legislation that would prohibit the use of certain dangerous and toxic chemicals in processed foods and drinks. Assembly Bill (AB) 418 would prohibit the manufacture, sale, or distribution of any food product in California containing red dye 3, titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, or propyl paraben.
California Assembly Bill 418 would place a statewide ban on the sale of processed foods containing red dye 3, titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, or propyl paraben, due to possible associated negative human health consequences.
Consumer groups are calling for the use of erythrosine—also known as red dye 3—in foods to be banned, pointing to studies suggesting the food coloring’s carcinogenicity and children’s heightened exposure to the coloring.