Senators said the proposed restrictions would help mitigate rising rates of chronic disease in Texas and across the nation.
“We are taking action for our children, our grandchildren and every Texan, so that we can live longer [and] have more productive lives,” Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, said on the Senate floor March 12.
What you need to know
Kolkhorst’s Senate Bill 25 would direct manufacturers selling food in Texas to label products containing certain ingredients. The proposal would also require students to take nutrition classes beginning in high school, expand physical education classes for middle school students and create a state nutrition advisory board.
Senators unanimously passed SB 25 on March 12.
The bill would not ban any food additives, Kolkhorst said. Instead, it would give companies until 2027 to add visible labels disclosing the use of 50 artificial colors and chemicals in their products.
“We will not be the food police... but we will arm Texans with information so they can make their decisions on their foods,” Kolkhorst said. “We will require food labeling that discloses what's in our foods. We will protect free markets and free enterprise, but we also protect the Texas consumer.”
This provision would not apply to ready-to-eat and prepared foods, including those sold at grocery deli counters, hotels, restaurants and vending machines, according to the bill. Kolkhorst said she added clarification to the bill after hearing concerns from H-E-B and other stores.
“We need to step beyond what the [Food and Drug Administration] has approved,” Kolkhorst said. “Texas can do that. And if we do this... I believe that the rest of the nation will look to Texas and say, ‘Huh, they're onto something.’”
Under SB 25, public school students would be required to complete at least 30 minutes of “moderate or vigorous daily physical activity” in kindergarten through eighth grade. State law currently says sixth through eighth graders must participate in physical activity, such as a gym class, during four of their six semesters.
“Children with childhood obesity have a harder time: poor educational outcomes and lower GPAs, reading scores, math scores and more absences,” Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, said in support of Kolkhorst’s bill March 12. “So if we can help children get healthier, it's going to help every aspect of their life.”
SB 25 also proposes requiring nutrition classes for all students in public high schools and public colleges or universities. This would also apply to all students enrolled in nursing school, health-related majors or medical school.
Also of note
Senators also approved Senate Bill 314, by Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, with a 30-1 vote March 12. Hughes’ proposal would ban 14 food additives from free and reduced-price meals served in Texas public schools.
Hughes said for some children, lunch served at school “may be the only hot meal that they have.”
“We have to acknowledge that in so many ways, the government has committed malpractice if the government wants to provide healthy, nutritious meals for those children,” Hughes said March 12. “SB 314 is for those kids who don't have the privilege of choosing what they're going to eat during the school day.”
Hughes said his bill would impact over 8,000 Texas public schools and 3 million students. During the 2022-23 school year, 63.2% of Texas’ 5.4 million public school students were eligible for free and reduced-price meals, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Food manufacturers and school districts would have until the 2026-27 school year to comply with SB 314. Senators approved an amendment by Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston, that would allow schools to request waivers from the Texas Education Agency if they could not meet the requirements.
Miles said this would help ensure schools would not lose federal funding for the National School Lunch Program.
SB 314 would ban the following additives from free and reduced-price breakfasts and lunches served in public schools:
- Brominated vegetable oil, a stabilizer used in some citrus drinks and banned by the FDA on Aug. 2
- Potassium bromate, an additive used to improve texture in some bagels, breads and other baked goods
- Propylparaben, a preservative used in some packaged baked goods, like pastries and tortillas
- Azodicarbonamide, an additive used to bleach flour and strengthen dough in items like pizzas, burger buns and more
- Butylated hydroxyanisole, a preservative used in some cured meats, cereals and active dry yeast
- Titanium dioxide, an additive used to whiten or enhance color in some shredded cheeses, gums and candies
- Red Dye 3, a synthetic dye banned by the FDA on Jan. 15
- Red Dye 40
- Yellow Dye 5
- Yellow Dye 6
- Blue Dye 1
- Blue Dye 2
- Green Dye 3
- Caramel
SBs 25 and 314 were sent to the Texas House, where companion bills have been introduced.
Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston, filed House Bill 25, which is identical to the initial version of Kolkhorst’s proposal. Hull’s bill will be heard in a House subcommittee hearing March 20.
“I am proud to partner with Sen. Kolkhorst and others... so that Texas can lead the nation in enhancing nutrition education and requiring food labeling disclosures for additives banned in other countries,” Hull said in a March 13 statement on social media.
Hull also filed House Bill 1637, which would ban six synthetic food dyes from all meals served in public schools and prohibit the use of certain herbicides on school grounds.
House Bill 1290, by Rep. Caroline Harris Davila, R-Round Rock, is identical to Hughes’ SB 314. The proposals by Harris Davila and Hull were referred to the House Public Education Committee, though they had not been assigned hearing as of March 17.
