i- On May 21, 2024, the California Assembly passed AB 2316, ordering it to the Senate. If enacted, the bill would prohibit public schools from offering, selling, or otherwise providing food and beverages containing the color additives Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, titanium dioxide, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, as well as beverages with added caffeine.
- According to the Assembly’s Floor Analysis, the bill is intended to protect the health and wellbeing of children by preventing “the serving of school foods with additives that are linked to cancer, hyperactivity, and neurobehavioral harms.” A 2021 report by the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard assessment found that synthetic food dye consumption can result in hyperactivity and neurobehavioral problems in children, who have varying sensitivities to the dyes. The report found that safe levels for dye intake established by the FDA are not sufficient to protect health. The analysis claims that the bill will only affect 4.2% of school meal products and 2.5% of a la carte foods and that it is unclear how commodity products, such as mozzarella cheese provided through federal nutrition programs, will be affected.
- AB 2316 follows the California Food Safety Act, which passed in September 2023. That law banned the use of brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and Red 3. Notably, the bill initially included titanium dioxide. However, it was removed from the list of prohibited substances shortly before the bill passed.
California Assembly Approves Color Additive Ban in Schools
Thursday, May 23, 2024
