Some popular foods may soon require warning labels in Texas
The Brief
Texas could be among the first states to require warning labels on foods containing artificial dyes and some chemicals.
Senate Bill 25 is waiting for Gov. Abbott's signature.
The bill includes an increased physical activity requirement for middle school students and nutrition education for undergraduate students at colleges and universities.
AUSTIN, Texas - The next time a Texan buys a Mountain Dew or a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos, they might find a warning that it contains ingredients that other countries say shouldn't be eaten.
Senate Bill 25 currently sits on Gov. Greg Abbott's desk awaiting his signature. The bill would require products that contain certain food additives to have a warning label that says those additives are "not recommended for human consumption by the appropriate authority in Australia, Canada, the European Union, or the United Kingdom." The warning label must be placed in a "prominent and reasonably visible" location on the packaging and must be easily readable on the background of the packaging.
The bill would only apply to packages produced after Jan. 1, 2027.
More than 40 ingredients that could trigger the warning label under the Make Texas Healthy Again bill.
READ MORE: FDA aims to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic dyes in food by end of 2026
The ingredients that would trigger the warning label include:
Acetylayed esters of mono- and diglycerides (acetic acid ester)
Anisole
Azodicarbonamide (ADA)
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)
Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)
Bleached flour
Blue 1 (CAS 3844-45-9)
Blue 2 (CAS 860-22-0)
Bromated flour
Calcium bromate
Canthaxanthin
Certified food colors by the United States Food and Drug Administration
Citrus red 2 (CAS 6358-53-8)
Diacetyl
Diacetyl tartaric and fatty acid esters of mono- and diglycerides (DATEM)
Dimethylamylamine (DMAA)
Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DSS)
Ficin
Green 3 (CAS 2353-45-9)
Interesterified palm oil
Interesterified soybean oil
Lactylated fatty acid esters of glycerol and propylene glycol
Lye
Morpholine
Olestra
Partially hydrogenated oil (PHO)
Potassium aluminum sulfate
Potassium bromate
Potassium iodate
Propylene oxide
Propylparaben
Red 3 (CAS 16423-68-0)
Red 4 (CAS 4548-53-2)
Red 40 (CAS 25956-17-6)
Sodium aluminum sulfate
Sodium lauryl sulfate
Sodium stearyl fumarate
Stearyl tartrate
Synthetic trans fatty acid
Thiodipropionic acid
Titanium dioxide
Toluene
Yellow 5 (CAS 1934-21-0)
Yellow 6 (CAS 2783-94-0)
Beyond the food warning labels, SB25 mandates more time for health and exercise in public schools.
Currently, students in grades six, seven and eight are required to participate in four semesters of at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily. That number would increase to six semesters under SB 25.
In higher education, students in an undergraduate degree program would be required to take a class in nutrition education as developed by the Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee.
The committee would be appointed by the governor by Dec. 31, 2025.
The seven-member committee would at least include:
One expert in metabolic health, culinary medicine, lifestyle medicine, or integrative medicine
One licensed physician certified in functional medicine
One member representing the Texas Department of Agriculture
One member representing a rural community
One member representing an urban community
One pediatrician specializing in metabolic health
Doctors and nurses would be required to complete continuing education on nutrition and metabolic health in order to remain licensed in Texas.
The Source
Information on Senate Bill 25 comes from the Texas Legislature. Information on products containing artificial dyes comes from those individual ingredient labels.
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