Dairy group urges Hochul to veto New York food additive ban

"At a time when food affordability remains a top concern for families, this legislation may cause dairy companies to shift their investments elsewhere, impacting the state’s dairy farmers and others in the dairy supply chain," Michael Dykes, the association's president and CEO, wrote in the letter. "All of this could undermine the recent investments in the New York dairy industry."

The legislation, if approved, would prohibit the use of several "harmful substances" as food additives or color additives in the manufacture and commercial distribution of food products and require companies to disclose their secret "Generally Recognized as Safe" ingredients to the public.

A summary of the proposal, which was approved by the state Assembly and Senate earlier this year, said it would ban additives Red No. 3, propylparaben, and potassium bromate that are commonly used in foods. 

The measure would protect New Yorkers from "three of the most pervasive and harmful food additives" and would allow New Yorkers "to know what they are consuming and make health-conscious decisions as consumers," the summary reads. Democrats who pushed the bill through the state Legislature are calling on Hochul to sign it.

"Every New Yorker deserves access to safe, healthy food, but unfortunately the food industry has successfully hobbled effective safety and health standards at the federal level, so New York needs to act," state Sen. Brian Kavanagh, Manhattan Democrat and primary sponsor of the bill. This package of legislation represents a series of big steps toward a food system that New Yorkers can trust. 

But the dairy industry said it is already voluntarily addressing consumer concerns about the safety of ingredients used in milk, cheese and other foods. 

More specifically, the nation’s ice cream manufacturers have committed to voluntarily removing certain artificial food dyes in their products made with real milk by 2027," Dykes wrote. "In addition, dairy food companies have committed to discontinuing the use of these same artificial dyes in wholesome dairy products provided to school meal programs." 

The trade group said the new requirements would also add to the bureaucracy for dairy farmers and "inundate" the state Department of Agriculture and Markets with "thousands of complex scientific reports" to comply with the proposed regulations.

"This means thousands of new reports will need to be created and sent to the Department for review- making it more time-consuming, and expensive, to get nutritious dairy products to market," Dykes wrote.