HARRISBURG – A bipartisan group of PA lawmakers have unveiled legislation that would remove chemicals and improve the quality of food sold in PA. The lawmakers say for decades food companies have been exploiting loopholes in the law to introduce thousands of chemicals into our diets with almost no oversight. One bill combats the FDA’s Generally Recognized as Safe loophole, which allows companies to add new chemicals to food without FDA approval or any type of independent review. If passed, as of 2026, companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell food products in PA will have to disclose the use of any such substances and document that the notified substance is safe. Other proposals include: prohibiting the sale of products containing Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3 in any PA public school; creating a statutory definition of ultra-processed foods in PA’s agriculture laws; banning the use of Paraquat – a commercial pesticide linked to Parkinson’s disease and childhood leukemia; and incentivizing PA farmers to plant “cover crops” to improve soil and food quality by cutting down on the need for pesticides. The proposals have been circulated to other PA House members for their consideration.
