In June of this year, Senate Bill 25 was passed in Texas. This bill focuses on food labels and the additives that are included in foods. The bill states that all food in Texas containing certain additives must have a label on the package, which warns consumers that the additives in the food are not recommended for human consumption. 

Senate Bill 25 was passed with the quality of the lives of Texans in mind. The goal of this bill is to “Make Texas Healthy Again,” as it is the name of the bill. Since so many American foods include harmful preservatives and additives, Senator Lois W. Kolkhorst was hoping to bring attention to what chemicals people are actually consuming on a day-to-day basis by passing this bill. The Senate is hoping that, by passing this bill in Texas, the idea will spread to the remainder of the states, ultimately making America healthier as a whole. Even though the bill doesn’t go into full effect until 2027, some companies have begun adding the warning label to their products. 

The warning label states, “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 label will need to be on any food packaging that includes food dyes, synthetic trans fatty acids, bleached flour, and dozens of other harmful additives.

The issue with this label is that it may cause large food companies to lose profits, since the warning label can discourage consumers from buying their products. Also, several of the additives that require a warning label due to this bill aren’t actually banned in the countries that are listed on the label. This could lead to conflict with those countries or the consumers, and people could challenge the labels, claiming that they are inaccurate. 

This isn’t all Senate Bill 25 is changing; the bill also states that health education programs will be required to implement a nutrition course in their curriculum. The purpose of this is to educate people in America about how important nutrition is and how important it is to monitor what you are eating in order to make sure that you aren’t ingesting too many chemicals or additives that can negatively affect your quality of life. 

Some people on the internet have also pointed out that some companies have recently announced new, dye-free versions of their products. These two topics may not be directly related, but a lot of people have noticed how suspicious the timing is. Doritos and Cheetos are a good example of this theory. They announced that they will be selling Simply NKD versions of their chips. This means that the chips will not have the same food dyes or harsh additives as the original chips. Some people seem thrilled about this, while some seem skeptical. The companies have assured the public that the chips will have the same flavor, and the only difference about this version of the chips is the lack of food dyes and harmful additives.

Senate Bill 25 was recently passed in Texas, with the goal of trying to make Texas healthy again. Whether it is through food labels or nutrition classes, the Senate is working to improve the lives of many in America by bringing attention to the harmful foods they may be eating.