Banning Harmful Food Additives at the Intersection of Law, Health, and Policy

Senate Bill 2637  

A bill that takes aim at four common food additives passed through the Illinois State Senate on April 18th, on its way to the House and potentially the Governor’s desk. As introduced, the bill would amend the  Illinois Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by stipulating that the manufacture, sale, delivery, distribution, holding, or offering for sale of a food product for human consumption that contains food additives will be banned starting on January 1, 2027. The food additives in question are brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and red dye 3.  

It has been recently amended to reflect that the manufacture of a food product containing these additives will violate the Act starting in 2027. The sale, distribution, holding, or offering of a food product for human consumption that contains those substances would only be banned starting on January 1, 2028, ostensibly to provide time for distributors and retailers to catch up.  

A person or entity that violates that prohibition will face civil liabilities in the form of up to $5,000 for the first offense and up to $10,000 for each successive offense after that.  

Dangers of Additives  

The additives that this legislation would ban have been found to be detrimental to health and linked to a variety of health issues, from allergies to chronic illnesses. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has conducted studies into the effects of these additives and found that they also can cause cancer in humans and animals. Therefore, they are considered carcinogenic.  

Red dye number 3 is a color additive that is illegal to use in cosmetics. It is externally applied but is still widely used in food products, which are obviously internally ingested. It can be found in candies like candy corn, Ners, Peeps, Pez, Sweet Tarts, and hundreds of others, as well as in cakes and other foods like Morning Star Farms bacon strips. Scientists have been urging the Food and Drug Administration to ban red dye number 3 for years now.  

Bipartisan Support  

Though the bill was sponsored by Democrats, the vote in favor in the Senate was bipartisan. Democratic Senator Willie Preston introduced the bill, but Republicans who support it include Senators Seth Lewis and Steve McClure. Senator Lewis stated that “it is time we take a serious look at what is in the snacks, drinks and other foods we are putting in our bodies and into the bodies of our children,” and noted that several countries have already enacted their own bans on the chemicals listed in this legislation.    

Opposition  

Despite the amendment allowing retailers and distributors more time to make necessary changes, various trade groups like the National Confectioners Association and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association are unsurprisingly opposed. Both groups say that a ban on these additives should be left to the U.S. Department of Food and Administration and not the State Legislature. However, other states have considered such bans, like Indiana, West Virginia, and Maryland; New York and Pennsylvania are currently considering their own prohibitions; and California notably passed the nation’s first ban on food additives in 2023.    

Food Policy  

A lot of food policy in the United States tends to focus on either the production, from an agricultural standpoint, such as subsidies to farmers or regulation of genetically modified food products; retail-related matters, such as food product labeling regulations and inspections; or on food assistance to lower-income individuals in the form of food stamps and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infant, and Children. These are all significant avenues to address the issues the public faces and the state of Illinois has its own versions of many of these policies.  

Ingredients in food products get a fair amount of attention, too, with people becoming more informed about what food labels actually mean and what goes into their favorite products. With this increased awareness and interest from the public, it is fitting that our state representatives take these issues into consideration to forge new paths for a healthier future for our communities.  

Food deserts are areas lacking convenient access to grocery stores and sources of fresh fruits and vegetables. Most of the people living in food deserts tend to be on the lower end of the economic scale, and these households have no choice but to rely on products from convenience stores. Convenience stores tend to carry the most highly processed foods, and processed foods are the main culprits carrying the additives in question. Low-income families are at a disproportionate disadvantage when it comes to exposure to these harmful ingredients. By passing this legislation, Illinois can ensure that all of its residents are protected from the dangers of these additives regardless of where they live within the state.