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The Illinois Food Safety Act in Senate Bill 2637 would ban
several additives, including potassium bromate and red dye No.
3. California and New York are working on similar bans, but if
enacted, Illinois would have the strictest food additive ban in
the country.
“I want Illinoisans to be more confident when grocery shopping
that they are not purchasing products that are laced with
ingredients classified as toxic and harmful for human
consumption,” said the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Willie
Preston, D-Chicago.
James Coughlin, food toxicology expert with the Institute of
Food Technologists, said there should be a uniform set of rules
for the entire country.
“This patchwork of several states having their own banned
additives on a list make it very difficult for food
manufacturers to sell things in interstate commerce,” Coughlin
said.
The Institute of Food Technologists is a global organization of
more 11,000 individual members from more than 100 countries
committed to advancing the science of food.
Craig Llewellyn, also with the Institute of Food Technologists,
said states should trust the Food and Drug Administration on
what additives should be banned.
“The science is generally there for the most part to demonstrate
safety and the safe use and the intended use is really the key,”
Llewellyn said.
The Illinois Manufacturers' Association has already gone on
record against Illinois' proposed measure, saying it would set a
dangerous precedent.
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