The 2024 state legislative sessions were teeming with bill proposals and enactments that touched a variety of food law issues. A few states enacted proposals about issues such as universal school meals, PFAS, raw milk, and food deserts. Also, several states passed “first in the nation” bills related to food additive bans and cell-cultured meat bans. This article will address a number of the food law bills that were enacted in 2024.
Food Additives
California is the first state in the nation to ban the sale of foods containing certain additives in schools. Specifically, the California School Food Safety Act would prohibit the sale of food and beverages containing the following substances: Blue Dye No. 1, Blue Dye No. 2, Green Dye No. 3, Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5, and Yellow Dye No. 6. Though still waiting for signage from Governor Gavin Newsom, if enacted, this law would prohibit the sale of many popular food items in California schools. For example, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, which contain Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5 and Yellow Dye No. 6, and Twinkies, which contain Yellow Dye No. 5, would be banned. The law bans the sale of products containing these food additives by a school district, county superintendent of schools, or charter schools maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12. An exception is created for school fundraising events which either take place away from school premises, or on school premises at least one-half hour after the end of the school day. This follows California’s 2023 enactment of the California Food Safety Act which prohibited the manufacture, distribution, and sale of food and beverages containing the food additives brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and Red Dye 3. To read more about the California Food Safety Act and other proposed state actions, click here to read NALC article “Update on Proposed Food Additive Bans.”
School Meals
Delaware
In its 2024 legislative session, Delaware enacted HB 125, which requires all public schools to offer students who qualify for a reduced-price meal under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s School Breakfast Program (SBP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP) free breakfast and lunch every school day. The meals must meet the meal pattern requirements under the SBP and NSLP, and the Delaware Department of Education will reimburse all public schools participating in the program.
Rhode Island
In its Fiscal Year 2025 budget, Rhode Island earmarked $813,000 for reduced price meals. Because of this money, all public elementary and secondary schools shall be required to make federally reimbursable breakfasts and lunches available to students attending those schools through NSLP and SBP. A federally reimbursable lunch or breakfast is a term used by the USDA to describe a complete meal that meets nutrient content and portion size requirements and allows a school to receive both monetary benefits and USDA foods as compensation. This legislation provides that if the federal, state, and other funds are available, free and reimbursable lunches shall be provided to all students from families that meet the current specific criteria established by federal and state regulations to qualify for free or reduced-price meals. This legislation is significant because SBP and NSLP are not mandatory programs – school districts and individual schools can opt in to the program. However, this legislation makes the implementation of the programs mandatory in Rhode Island. Additionally, this legislation provides free meals to students who meet the federal criteria for both free meals and reduced-price meals. The state of Rhode Island will provide additional funds to public schools in an amount equal to the difference between the federal reimbursement rate received for a free breakfast/lunch and the federal reimbursement rate received for each student eligible for a reduced-price breakfast/lunch and receiving breakfast/lunch.
Raw Milk
West Virginia enacted HB 4911 in its 2024 legislative session. This legislation modifies West Virginia’s raw milk laws to allow unpasteurized milk to be sold by a seller in West Virginia to a consumer in West Virginia if a set of conditions are met. The conditions include the clear labeling of “unpasteurized raw milk” on the raw milk’s packaging, the name and physical address of the seller, the date of production, and the following warning, “Consuming unpasteurized raw milk may increase your risk of foodborne illness, especially for children, elderly, immunocompromised individuals, and persons with certain medical conditions.” Prior to the enactment of HB 4911, raw milk was only allowed to be sold in West Virginia if the purchaser entered into a shared animal ownership agreement, or if it was sold as an ingredient in the preparation of a nonedible product or as feed for another animal. Thus, by permitting the sale of raw milk in West Virginia, this bill creates a market for raw milk producers in West Virginia to sell their product to consumers in West Virginia. To learn more about the regulation of raw milk, click here to read NALC article “Amos Miller and the Regulation of Raw Milk.”
PFAS
New Hampshire enacted HB 1649, which prohibits certain products with intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from being sold, offered for sale, or distributed for sale or for promotional purposes in the state. An intentionally added PFAS is a substance that a manufacturer has intentionally added to a product that has a functional or technical effect on the product. Among the prohibited products with intentionally added PFAS is “food packaging and containers.” The definition for food packaging and containers includes various packaging components such as shipping containers, wrappers, and labels, and any container “providing a means to market, protect, handle, deliver, serve, contain, or store a food or beverage.” Under this law, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services may request a certificate of compliance from the manufacturer that states the product is in compliance with the law. An authorized official of the manufacturer or supplier must sign the certificate of compliance, keep a copy on file, and provide a new or amended certificate if they create a new product or reformulate a current product. This law is significant because it prohibits manufacturers from using food packaging and containers with added PFAS – a requirement that might force a number of food companies to alter the packaging and containers they use for products sold in New Hampshire. Additionally, it adds a layer of administrative requirements by mandating manufacturers have a certificate of compliance.
Food Deserts
Delaware Governor John Carney signed the Delaware Grocery Initiative into law on August 29, 2024. This legislation addresses food insecurity in both urban and rural areas by providing grants and other forms of financial assistance to eligible food resources, nonprofit food resources, local government unit food resources, or specialty grocers. The grants and financial assistance are offered to areas that either qualify as a food desert or are at risk of becoming a food desert. A food desert is defined as a location “where the residential population lacks adequate access to affordable nutritious foods, typically lower-income areas where there is no access to a grocery store within at least one-half mile in urban areas or at least 10 miles in non-urban areas.” A food resource can include entities like food retailers, food banks, food pantries, supermarkets, and more. Through this legislation, the Delaware Division of Small Business will award financial assistance to eligible food resources based on a number of factors, such as poverty rates, income, geographic diversity, local ownership, and other factors. The financial assistance may be provided for equipment, capital expenses, administrative expenses, supplies, or other costs determined by the Division. Additionally, this law authorizes the Delaware Council on Farm & Food Policy to develop a food access strategy to address food insecurity in urban, suburban, and rural communities throughout the state.
Cell-Cultured Meat
While not a bill proposal enacted through its state legislature, last month, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen announced three initiatives addressing lab-grown meat in his state. First, Governor Pillen signed an executive order which prohibited any Nebraska state agency from procuring lab-grown meat and required entities that contracted with Nebraska through the State Procurement Act to attest that they have not discriminated against natural-meat producers in favor of laboratory or cultivated-meat producers. Second, Governor Pillen directed the Nebraska Department of Agriculture to initiate rulemaking to make sure that lab-grown meat products sold in stores are correctly labeled and marketed separate from natural meat. Last, Governor Pillen stated his intention to work with senators in the upcoming legislative session to draft legislation banning lab-grown meat in Nebraska.
Though these initiatives were not bills enacted through the Nebraska legislature, they mirror legislation that was introduced and enacted in other states over the 2024 legislative session. Specifically, Alabama and Florida have taken similar actions and outright banned the production, manufacture, sale and distribution of lab-grown meat. Additionally, in 2024, Iowa enacted legislation that both creates labeling standards for lab-grown meat products and bans state education providers from procuring lab-grown meat. To read about these state law updates and more, click here to read NALC article “Cell-Cultured Meat Updates: state bans, labeling requirements, and regulatory clarifications.”
Conclusion
Over the 2024 state legislative sessions, a number of food law-related bills were enacted. For example, legislation which provides free school meals for students who qualify for federal reduced-price meals, legislation that creates a program for providing financial assistance to food resources in food deserts, legislation that authorizes the sale of raw milk in West Virginia, and legislation that bans the food packaging and containers with intentionally added PFAS. Additionally, the groundbreaking, “first in the nation” passage of cell-cultured meat and food additive in school bans. To stay up-to-date on further food law developments, follow the National Agricultural Law Center on social media and subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter, the Feed.