Food safety legislation would require warning labels for some dyes and chemicals
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – New bipartisan legislation would increase awareness about what's in food. Products that contain certain dyes and chemicals would be required to have warning labels.
Currently, companies can add new 'Generally Recognized as Safe' chemicals to food without any type of FDA approval or independent review through an FDA loophole. If this legislation passes, companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell food products in the Commonwealth will have to disclose the use of those substances and document that they're safe.
'People need to understand what's in their food,' says Rep. Justin Fleming. 'They need to understand what they're eating.'
Rep. Fleming says there are students who get most of their meals at school, so those meals need to be safer.
'There are all these dyes in food and it's no secret, we as Americans are getting sicker, unfortunately, and it's it's due in large part to what we're eating. Levels of diabetes have gone up with more high fructose corn syrup,' Fleming says.
Under the legislation, products with Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3 could no longer be served in any Pennsylvania public school and those items would need labels warning consumers that the product may affect children's behavior and health.
'If this is something we can really look at and see if it's going to correct those behavior issues, it's going to be great in the long run for educators also,' says Dennis Michaels with Metz Culinary Management.
Michaels oversees schools in the central Pennsylvania region, including Carlisle, Fulton and Mifflin school districts.
'We have a captured audience for those two meals a day, so it's something that we can really influence at any age, but especially at a young age, introducing very healthy, fresh food to them, chemical free dye free, that could really help guide their eating habits in the future,' Michaels says.
Both Fleming and Michaels say manufacturers are already making improvements and this legislation would offer more guidance for food production.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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