California is the first state to ban school cafeterias from serving food containing six artificial colors that can lead to health and behavioral problems.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed Assembly Bill 2316 into law on Saturday. Known as the California School Food Safety Act, it bans Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3 from meals, drinks and snacks served in public schools across the state.

Democratic Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel introduced the bill in March, three years after a state report linked consumption of synthetic food dyes to hyperactivity and neurobehavioral problems in certain children. Other studies have also shown that some of the dyes are carcinogenic.

While the Food and Drug Administration has not found a causal link between behavioral problems and synthetic dyes in children who have not been diagnosed with conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, the 2021 comprehensive review by the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment even found There is a connection in some children without a diagnosis of ADHD.

“Overall, our review of human studies suggests that synthetic food dyes are associated with adverse neurobehavioral effects such as inattention, hyperactivity, and agitation in sensitive children,” the authors write. “The evidence supports an association between exposure to food dyes and adverse behavioral outcomes in children, both with and without pre-existing behavioral disorders.”

Gabriel said Monday he was “delighted” that Newsom had signed the bill.

“We’re really proud that we’re changing the national conversation about food safety,” he said in a telephone interview. “It is clear that these are chemicals that can harm children and affect their ability to learn.”

The law does not prohibit food, he said. Rather, it requires manufacturers to remove the artificial colors in their recipes and replace them with natural alternatives such as carrot or beet juice – which many companies are already doing for consumers in the European Union and other countries where synthetic colors are used in foods and drinks are prohibited.

The law will come into force on December 31, 2027, which Gabriel said will give manufacturers enough time to reformulate their recipes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of ADHD diagnoses nationwide has trended upward in recent years.

A decades-long debate

Consumer advocacy groups have long argued that FDA approval of artificial colors is based on outdated, decades-old research. They also point to research indicating that children have a lower tolerance to chemicals than adults, making their developing bodies more susceptible to harmful effects of synthetic dyes.

“What made this type of legislation necessary is that the FDA has been unable or unwilling to do anything about these problems for several decades,” Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, said of the California legislation. “Today there is so much more data and information about health impacts than ever before.”

The FDA did not immediately comment on the California law. Last week, the company held a public meeting to discuss food chemicals, including color additives, as part of its broader food safety efforts. The company is now seeking comments from the public as it works to develop an improved review process for post-market evaluation of chemicals in food.

The International Food Additives Council, a trade group, said in a statement that state laws like the California School Food Safety Act undermine the FDA.

“This legislation is not only misguided, but it also increases costs and complexity, ultimately affecting the population that needs food most, while confounding national food regulations and creating confusion for consumers,” the group said. “This approach fuels unnecessary fear and distrust of the federal system.”

The school food law comes a year after the passage of the California Food Safety Act, another first-of-its-kind law authored by Gabriel. This law banned four other potentially harmful food additives from products sold nationwide, including brominated vegetable oil, which is often used as a stabilizer in citrus-flavored drinks.

The United Kingdom and other places around the world have banned brominated vegetable oil for decades due to concerns about its potential toxicity. This summer, the FDA revoked approval for use in foods and beverages nationwide after announcing that it had concluded that brominated vegetable oil was unsafe.

Gabriel said he hopes California’s new law will lead to further changes at the federal level.

“We believe that we are putting the right pressure on the federal government to do the right thing and really bring the United States into line with so many other countries around the world,” he said.