Committee reviews bill to bar certain additives, including artificial dyes, from school meals; AOE to enforce compliance

Legislative counsel Katie summarized S.26 (draft 2.1), telling the Senate Health & Welfare committee that the bill would add a new list of prohibited substances in school meals (new subdivisions 7–12) and set an effective date of July 1, 2027. Katie said the bill’s compliance mechanism would require the Agency of Education (AOE) to review school menus and product labels submitted by schools as part of existing federal administrative-review requirements, which she said avoids creating an extra administrative burden on schools.

An advocate testifying for community and environmental interests said she supported the revised draft and praised the incorporation of AOE’s suggested compliance approach. “Children should be safeguarded from the health impacts of synthetic dyes and harmful additives in our food, especially in schools,” the advocate said, adding that while her group would like to see broader statewide bans in time, they support the committee moving forward with the current language so long as it minimizes new school reporting requirements.

An industry representative from Associated Industries urged caution on two items on the proposed list (referred to in the draft as items 8 and 12, including TBHQ), saying those substances are still widely used and that there are supply and regulatory questions. The representative said some of those chemicals remain allowed or considered safe in markets such as the United States and Europe and noted an active FDA review of similar chemicals; they asked the committee to consider excluding those two items pending further data.

Committee members asked staff to follow up with the Agency of Education (Rosie Krueger) to confirm whether the two flagged chemicals pose compliance or supply problems for school meal programs. Members noted AOE had reviewed an earlier version of the list and reported no compliance issues; the committee agreed not to move the bill until the AOE provides further comment and pledged to revisit S.26 after that input.

No formal motion or vote was taken during the session; the committee indicated it intends to schedule further consideration of S.26 after receiving AOE’s response.