State level scrutiny of the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) framework continues, with recent legislative activity in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and California signaling sustained interest in chemical disclosure and food additive oversight.

Pennsylvania: Senate Bill 820 was introduced in June 2025 during the 2025-2026 session and was referred to the Senate Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee where it remains. The 2025 PA legislative session ended on December 31, 2025; however, this bill was automatically carried over to the 2026 session and does not need to be reintroduced. If approved, the Act would become effective on January 1, 2027.

SB 820 would require companies to disclose GRAS ingredients to the public. The bill also would ban a number of food additives, including titanium dioxide, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), and hydroxytoluene (BHT). 

New York: Senate Bill S01239, the Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act, was introduced in January 2025 during the 2025-2026 legislative session and has since been amended and advanced through multiple committees. The New York Senate passed this bill in June 2025, but it stalled in the Assembly. The bill, however, was returned to the Senate at the beginning of the 2026 legislative year. The Senate again passed the bill on February 5, 2026, and sent it back to the Assembly for consideration.

S01239 would impose reporting requirements for substances that manufacturers determine to be GRAS and would ban potassium bromate, propylparaben, and FD&C Red No. 3. In addition, this bill would limit the reliance on a determination of the safety of these banned substances as a defense in state enforcement action. 

New Jersey: Senate Bill S3277, which would require food manufacturers to disclose certain new food additives that have not been reported to FDA, was introduced in prior sessions under different bill numbers. The earlier versions failed to advance before the close of the legislative sessions and the bill was reintroduced on February 2, 2026.

S3277 would require manufacturers of food and nonalcoholic beverages sold in New Jersey to submit an annual report to the Commissioner of the Department of Health for each new use of a food additive that is the subject of a GRAS determination. Substances that are the subject of a GRAS notice to FDA where the Agency had no questions regarding the GRAS conclusion are exempt from the reporting requirements.

California: On February 17, 2026, the California State Assembly introduced a major food safety bill that would effectively prohibit the sale of products containing substances that are the subject of a self-determined GRAS conclusion without federal notification or other federal sanction. See California Lawmakers Consider Sweeping Changes to Food Additive Oversight for more details.

It remains unclear how these state level initiatives will ultimately intersect with federal action. FDA sent a proposed rule related to GRAS to the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) in December of 2025, but the timing, scope, and substance of the rulemaking remain uncertain.