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Federal bill would ban certain additives in school meals
The Safe School Meals Act would ban certain chemicals and set limits for heavy metals in school meals.
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Senator Cory Booker has introduced the Safe School Meals Act. | Photo: Shutterstock
A new federal bill that would ban certain chemicals and set limits for heavy metals in school meals has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.).
Named the Safe School Meals Act, the bill would do the following:
Ban glyphosate, paraquat, and organophosphate pesticide residues in school meals. Food from Certified organic farms would automatically meet this requirement.
Ban Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), phthalates, lead, and bisphenols in food packaging in school meals.
Direct the FDA to reevaluate at least 10 certain food additives with known carcinogenic, reproductive, or developmental health harms, including food dyes. The additives would also be banned from school meals prior to the completion of the FDA review.
Direct the FSD to set safe limits for heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury) in school meals that are based on a threshold of reasonable certainty of no harm to school-age children from aggregate exposure. If the agency does establish those limits within two years, the limits would automatically be set to non-detectable until a safe level of exposure is determined.
Provide a grant program to manufacturers to provide funding to help them adhere to the above requirements.
Expand National Organic Cost Share Certification to all eligible farms and lift the cap to cover 100% of certification costs, up to $3,000.
“Kids in America consume far too many harmful substances in their food,” said Senator Booker in a statement. “School meals should be a child’s safest source of nourishment, not another source of toxic exposure. The Safe School Meals Act would protect our children by getting dangerous chemical food additives, heavy metals, and pesticide and chemical residues out of school meals while creating a significant new market opportunity for organic and regenerative farmers.”
A similar bill in California was passed by the state government earlier this summer. Under that bill, certain food dyes, including Red 40 and Yellow 5, would be banned from use in school meals. The bill has been sent to Governor Newsom for his signature and he has until the end of the month to sign it into law.
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Oct 18, 2024
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