Good morning.
My name is Scott Faber and I am testifying this morning on behalf of the Environmental Working Group. I am also an adjunct professor of food law at Georgetown University Law Center. Before joining EWG, I was the vice president for government affairs for the Consumer Brands Association, the food industry’s trade association.
I’d like to make five points.
One, the overwhelming evidence shows that synthetic dyes make it harder for some of our children to learn.
A recent systematic study looked at human evidence of what happens when children ingest dyes and animal studies of what happens to their brains. Scientists concluded that some children’s behavior suffers, and that dyes change the structure of their brains and how their brains transmit signals.
Two, the FDA has not thoroughly reviewed the safety of synthetic dyes since the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, long before toxicological studies could detect their effects on behavior and our kids’ brains. Meetings held in 2011 by the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Advisory Council and in 2019 by the FDA’ Science Board, were meetings of professionals, not thorough reviews that agencies conduct when deciding on the safety of chemicals like synthetic dyes.
Three, banning synthetic colors, titanium dioxide and the other chemicals addressed by HB 1137 will have no impact on our school food professionals. In 2024, EWG analysts found that only 3% of the foods sold “on the tray,” only 2% of foods sold a la carte, and none of the USDA Commodity Foods for the coming school year contain synthetic colors.
Food companies can and do reformulate – quickly. When other countries required food companies to put a warning on foods containing dyes, companies quickly replaced synthetic colors with natural colors.
Four, three of the other chemicals removed from school foods by HB 1137 have been banned elsewhere. Other nations have already banned potassium bromate and azodicarbonamide, which are linked to cancer; propyl paraben, which harms our reproductive and hormone systems; and titanium dioxide, which damages our DNA. TBHQ and BHT also harm our hormone systems, but TBHQ has not been reviewed by the FDA since 1977, and BHT has never been reviewed by the FDA but was instead deemed safe by food chemical companies decades ago.
Five, the FDA has no plan to reconsider the safety of these chemicals any time soon and is not required to do so. The FDA does not have a comprehensive food chemical safety system. In fact, 99% of new food chemicals are reviewed by the chemical companies, not by the FDA. While we are hopeful that change is coming to the FDA, it’s not coming any time soon.
Let’s do what the scientists say is best for our children and for parents and teachers,and end the use of these toxic chemicals in food offered at school.
