S1239E

The New York State Senate passed legislation requiring food manufacturers to disclose undisclosed ingredients and banning three specific chemicals from products sold in the state, with a vote of 56-2 on Thursday. Senate Print 1239E, sponsored by Sen. Kavanagh, addresses what he called a "huge loophole" in federal law that allows food producers to keep ingredient safety analyses secret from consumers. The bill gives companies one year to comply, with a three-year grace period for products already on shelves. Sen. Kavanagh argued the measure is necessary because the federal Food and Drug Administration has been slow to act—taking a decade to ban Red Dye No. 3 from food despite already prohibiting it in cosmetics—and that companies lobbying against the bill have spent more than a decade preventing federal action on the issue. Sen. Oberacker, a food scientist, testified the bill is achievable, noting that companies already reformulate products using alternative color sources. Only Sen. Borrello voted against the bill, arguing that federal action by the Trump administration and a national standard would be more effective than state-level regulation. The bill has an Assembly sponsor in Anna Kelles, though the bills are not currently identical due to a technical amendment reference change.

The New York State Senate passed legislation to close a major gap in federal food safety regulations, approving S1239E by a vote of 58-1. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Kavanagh, targets the so-called GRAS loophole, which allows food companies to designate certain ingredients as generally recognized as safe using proprietary science without public disclosure. Under the measure, companies providing food to New Yorkers using this loophole would be required to disclose both the presence of those ingredients and the scientific basis for their safety determination to the Department of Agriculture and Markets, which would make the information available to consumers. Sen. Oberacker, a food scientist and cosponsor, praised the bill during floor debate, noting that viable alternatives to synthetic ingredients already exist, including lycopene derived from tomatoes and oleoresin of paprika as replacements for certain red dyes. Sen. Kavanagh argued that scientific review works best when conducted transparently and subject to public scrutiny, particularly when companies conduct self-interested research. Only Sen. Borrello voted against the measure. The bill takes effect one year after becoming law.