West Virginia Senate passes bill banning food dyes, preservatives | State Journal News | wvnews.com

Quick take:

Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, R-Ohio, chair of the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee, speaks in support of House Bill 2354 on Wednesday.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WV News) — Lawmakers in the West Virginia Senate recently passed a bill that would ban a list of artificial dyes and preservatives in food.

House Bill 2354 was approved on a vote of 31-2, with one member absent or not voting.

The legislation would ban the preservatives butylated hydroxyanisole and propylparaben, as well as the dyes FD&C Blue No. 1, FD&C Blue No. 2, FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, and FD&C Yellow No. 6.

Additionally, the bill would ban the same dyes from being used as an ingredient in meals served by schools or school nutrition programs. The bill contains an exemption for food items sold at school fundraisers that take place away from school property or that take place at least 30 minutes after the end of the school day.

Senators adopted an amendment delaying implementation of the bill from 2027 until 2028.

The two nay votes in the Senate came from Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, and Sen. Jack Woodrum, R-Summers.

The bill previously passed the West Virginia House of Delegates, but will now be sent back so House lawmakers can consider the Senate changes.

The dyes and preservatives the legislation would ban have been found to be “poisonous or injurious to health,” said Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, R-Ohio, chair of the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee.

“This is probably the most important bill that we will vote on in our entire careers here,” she said. “I do not say that lightly.”

Chapman

The passage of HB 2354 is the start of “making our state and our children healthier,” Wakim Chapman said.

“This bill, if signed into law, will put us at the forefront of food safety in West Virginia,” she said.

Sen. Jason Barrett, R-Berkeley, said “at least 17 other states” are considering similar legislation.

“One state that comes to mind is the state of Oklahoma, who has a bill that goes far beyond this bill. As the bill currently stands in Oklahoma, it would ban 21 food additives,” he said,

Barrett

Opponents of HB 2354 have said regulating ingredients in food is the job of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Barrett said.

“Well no kidding. They’re right — I agree,” he said. “But the FDA has failed to ensure that the food of the United States of America is safe for consumption. The FDA has not reevaluated these chemicals in decades.”

The FDA revoked the authorization for the use of Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs on Jan. 15. Manufacturers who use FD&C Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs have until Jan. 15, 2027 or Jan. 18, 2028, respectively, to reformulate their products.

Senior Staff Writer Charles Young can be reached at 304-626-1447 or [email protected]

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