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Pennsylvania hearing examines 'Healthy PA' package to curb synthetic dyes, ultra‑processed foods and paraquat
Summary
Lawmakers and witnesses debated state bills that would limit synthetic food dyes in school meals, restrict unhealthy ultra‑processed foods, require transparency for food additive approvals, and ban the herbicide paraquat; advocates cited health studies while industry warned of regulatory duplication with FDA.
Members of the Pennsylvania House Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities Committee held an informational hearing on the "Healthy PA" legislative package, which would restrict certain synthetic food dyes and unhealthy ultra‑processed foods in schools, increase transparency for food‑additive approvals, and consider banning the herbicide paraquat.
Supporters told the panel the measures respond to mounting scientific evidence about harms from some food chemicals and highly processed foods and to gaps they described in federal oversight. "The FDA has not thoroughly reviewed these dyes since the sixties, seventies, and eighties," said Scott Faber, senior vice president for government affairs at the Environmental Working Group. Faber also said "more than half of the calories we consume come from UPFs, including 67% of the calories consumed by our children." Dr. Megan Grego, a family physician and chief medical officer of Kellen Foundation, cited studies linking ultra‑processed food intake to higher risks of cardiovascular disease, dementia and premature death and urged lawmakers to "make the healthy choice the easy choice in Pennsylvania."
Speakers also urged a state ban on paraquat, a widely used herbicide that witnesses said has been linked in some studies to Parkinson’s disease. "Paraquat has been banned in more than 70 countries," Faber said, and "Paraquat only makes up about 1% of all the pesticides sprayed in Pennsylvania." A representative of Rodale Institute said paraquat use in Pennsylvania was 1.3% of overall pesticide use from 2014–2018 and that about half of current state use is concentrated in Adams, York, Lancaster, Franklin, Cumberland and Berks counties.
Experts urged closing the federal GRAS (generally recognized as safe) self‑certification loophole and increasing transparency. Tom Neltner of Unleaded Kids told the committee "about half of the roughly 10,000 chemicals used in food or food contact materials have not been fully reviewed by FDA," and he described how voluntary notifications can allow ingredients to enter the market without agency review. "The GRAS loophole needs to be closed by making it more transparent," Neltner said.
Industry witnesses pushed back, urging deference to the federal system and warning of costs from state‑by‑state rules. Aaron Riggleman of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry said the FDA provides a "science‑based" national framework and cautioned that state mandates on ingredients or labeling would "create compliance headaches for manufacturers and distributors" and could raise grocery costs. Sarah Cordria of the International Association of Color Manufacturers and Jennifer Gardner of the National Confectioners Association both argued that color additives are subject to existing regulation and safety review and that a patchwork of state rules would be disruptive.
Committee members voiced a mix of views about federal capacity and the appropriate role for the state. Representative Warner said the federal system had failed in his view and that states must act: "When the federal government fails, it is the duty of the states to step in to protect their people." Other members asked technical questions about when specific dyes were last reviewed by FDA, the scientific basis for behavioral findings, and the practical effects of proposed state reporting requirements.
The hearing included discussion of actions taken by other states: witnesses noted bans or restrictions on synthetic colors in school foods in Virginia, West Virginia, California, Utah and Arizona. Several witnesses said state action can prompt federal review: "It’s a traditional role of states," Neltner said, "when the FDA or the federal government drops the ball, states pick it up."
No formal votes or committee actions were taken during the hearing; committee staff described the meeting as informational. Supporters urged the committee and legislature to advance provisions of the Healthy PA package; industry witnesses urged emphasis on federal funding and capacity for FDA instead of state mandates. The panel listed letters received for the record from numerous advocacy and industry groups and adjourned with no immediate decision announced.
