A new law in Texas will require many popular products to have a label warning consumers that it contains ingredients “not recommended for human consumption.”
It targets M&Ms, Doritos, Mountain Dew, and probably at least one of your grocery store guilty pleasures. The law, which was officially signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, requires any food containing one of more than 40 additives to include the label on its packaging by 2027.
Here’s a closer look at the additives in question, what nutritionists have to say about the MAHA-adjacent legislation, and more.
What is Texas’s food label law?
The law aims to align the Lone Star State with the more cautious approach to processed food seen in Europe. There, food additives — like artificial dyes and preservatives — are strictly regulated.
The label, which would be found up and down grocery-store aisles, would read: “WARNING: This product contains an ingredient that is not recommended for human consumption by the appropriate authority in Australia, Canada, the European Union, or the United Kingdom.”
The hope is this will nudge manufacturers to strip their items of the additives. These ingredients, which slip through the cracks of a regulatory loophole, have become a priority of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement. Some major companies — from General Mills to Nestle — have already committed to removing dyes from their products, but the food industry is still pushing back against the law.
“The ingredients used in the U.S. food supply are safe and have been rigorously studied following an objective science- and risk-based evaluation process,” the Consumer Brands Association trade group wrote in a letter to Abbott. “The labeling requirements of SB 25 mandate inaccurate warning language, create legal risks for brands and drive consumer confusion and higher costs.”
The regulation would only apply to food labels “developed or copyrighted” on or after Jan. 1, 2027 — meaning that companies would only have to include the warning on food labels they’ve redesigned or updated, like when new ingredients are added, the Washington Post reports.
In general, the move to pay closer attention to these ingredients has been applauded by experts, says Kathleen Melanson, a professor of nutrition at the University of Rhode Island. “Nutrition professionals and other health organizations have been advocating for more scrutiny of food additives for a long time,” she tells us.
However, Dr. Melanson and others in her field say they’re not quite sure how state legislators came up with their list of 44 ingredients. And there appear to be some discrepancies. The Associated Press reports that three of the additives — partially hydrogenated oils, Red Dye No. 4, and Red Dye No. 3 — have already been restricted in the U.S., and that some of the other ingredients are allowed in Australia, Canada, the E.U., or U.K.
What additives are on the list?
A whole range of artificial dyes are included, from Red No. 3 to Yellow No. 5, which have been controversial for some time. That’s because they’ve been linked to hyperactivity and neurobehavioral issues in children and cancer risk. However, the research supporting this is limited, and some of it has only been proven in animals, Dr. Melanson says.
There are several preservatives that have been blacklisted, like butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), which prevent fats in food from going bad. Both ingredients have also been linked to cancer — although, again, in studies on animals, not humans — and BHA is being reviewed in the E.U. for its potential to disrupt hormones.
Emulsifiers (or chemicals that help water and oil blend), thickeners, and stabilizers also made the list. Some of these compounds, like propylene glycol, have been linked to allergic reactions and could worsen the symptoms of kidney and liver disease.
You can see the full list of 44 additives that would get a warning label here.
Dr. Melanson sees the focus on additives as a net positive, but she believes that the more important takeaway for consumers is to minimize the amount of ultra-processed foods in their diets. “Whether or not a food has a certain dye in it, the main focus should be on getting enough fiber, protein, and other nutrients you need from whole foods,” she says.
