Pennsylvania Introduces Several Bills Aimed at GRAS Ingredients and Additive Restrictions
Thursday, May 1, 2025
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  • Last week, Pennsylvania introduced HB 1130, a bill that would introduce mandatory reporting and transparency requirements for substances considered “safe” under federal law. If passed, companies using generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substances in food products will be required to make food safety disclosures pertaining to those ingredients.
  • Under the house bill, if companies use a GRAS substance in their product, they will need to file a report with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture detailing why the ingredient is safe, and ensure the ingredient is listed in a new Pennsylvania database before selling or manufacturing the product in the state. Additionally, any proof companies provide about an ingredient’s safety must be made available to the public through that database. If an ingredient has already been reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is approved by federal law, or is a well-known natural food product, companies may be exempt. Pennsylvania would also be able to reject a company’s filing if it does not provide enough information.
  • HB 1130 was introduced along with seven other bills aimed at food safety, which include greater chemical disclosures on food labels, bans on the sale of foods with color additives blue 1, blue 2, green 3, red 40, yellow 5, and yellow 6 in schools (HB 1131), creating a statutory definition of ultra processed foods and prohibiting their sale in schools (HB 1132), a warning on foods that contain BHA (HB 1133), a warning on foods that contain blue 1, blue 2, green 3, red 40, yellow 5 or yellow 6 (HB 1134), and others.
  • The lawmakers sponsoring HB 1130 state that it is estimated that over 10,000 chemicals have come into the food supply with no evidence they chemicals are safe for consumption through the “GRAS loophole” that allows food companies to add new chemicals to food without FDA approval or any type of independent review.
  • HB 1130 was referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Utilities on April 21, 2025. Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor and relay any legislative developments regarding these bills.
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