Food Safety & Chemical Disclosure Fact Sheet (New York A1556A/S1239A)

Resource overview

The following is only a selection of the full resource and does not contain all information in the downloadable Fact Sheet.

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The Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act (A1556A/S1239A):

1. Requires food companies to publicly disclose safety evidence for “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) food chemicals.
2. Prohibits the sale of food containing Red 3, potassium bromate, and propylparaben—chemicals linked to cancer and reproductive toxicity—statewide.
3. Bans seven synthetic color dyes from food, snacks, and beverages in New York schools.

How the Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act protects New Yorkers

• Stops the secrecy: Companies will be required to report safety evidence for GRAS chemicals to the NY Department of Agriculture and Markets, who will publicly post this information in a database.
• Empowers consumers and businesses: Companies can demand GRAS ingredient listings from suppliers or search for them in the NY database before deciding to use a food chemical. Consumers, too, will be empowered to access safety data for food ingredients.
• Gives regulators real oversight: New York regulators—and the FDA—can flag and work to remove unsafe GRAS chemicals from the food supply by reviewing their evidence for safety in the NY GRAS database.
• Dissuades bad actors: Companies will think twice before introducing untested chemicals when they know the public and regulators are watching.

The Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act will ban three harmful chemicals across New York:

• Red 3: New York’s ban will go into effect sooner than the federal ban, which is effective in 2027.
• Potassium bromate: A flour bleaching and maturing agent, this chemical was linked to cancer by the World Health Organization in 1992.
• Propylparaben: A preservative, this chemical has been associated with reproductive toxicity and hormone disruption by the European Food Safety Authority in 2004.

The bottom line

The secret GRAS loophole allows unvetted chemicals into our food. This bill ends the secrecy and empowers consumers, businesses, and regulators to consider ingredient safety.

New Yorkers deserve protection from harmful chemicals without waiting on the FDA. This bill bans chemicals known to cause health problems.