Food Industry Says State Ingredient Laws Will Mean Higher Costs

A collection of food trade groups are discouraging states from forcing companies to publicize how they determine ingredients are safe for public consumption without regulatory review.

As California, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania advance ingredient disclosure bills, the food industry is warning legislators against enacting proposals they say will raise food prices and slow innovation.

The groups argue the states risk getting ahead of federal regulations in the works to make companies disclose scientific assessments establishing a new food substance is generally recognized as safe, also known as GRAS. Yet other food industry associations—some of which represent the same companies fighting states—are working to oppose the US Food and Drug Administration’s effort to publish GRAS determinations, according to interviews and memos obtained by Bloomberg Law.

“It’s really ironic that national companies and industry associations that have been trying to prevent effective regulation at the federal level for decades and have in fact succeeded in preventing effective regulation with respect to GRAS, are now saying, ‘let’s rely on the federal government,’” said New York state Sen. Brian Kavanagh (D), the sponsor of one such bill.

It’s voluntary for companies to share GRAS assessments—which can run hundreds of pages long—with the federal government before products go to market under existing FDA regulations. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called self-determining ingredient safety a “loophole” and has claimed closing it will make foods safer for consumers.

New York was the first state to propose making GRAS conclusions public. Kavanagh’s bill passed the Senate for a second year in a row on March 23. In February, California became the latest state to introduce a similar proposal, following New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The details of this multi-state opposition push, including a flurry of memos lobbying legislators about the dangers of mandatory ingredient disclosures, have not been previously reported and shed new light on the latest fight from a sector that’s also proved willing to sue states that pass new food regulations.

The federal government, for its part, appears to have taken a cue from states.

In an interview with Bloomberg Law, FDA Deputy Foods Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said the agency’s proposal to mandate sharing GRAS assessments was a “testament” to state action that’s compelled the federal government to “step up and do the work.”

Food Sector: ‘On Its Front Foot’

The American Beverage Association, which represents soda giants Coca Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc., warned in a March 25 memo that New York’s bill would confuse consumers and estimated it would cost the state $21 million over three years to implement.

“Our member companies value the previously-established federal oversight and GRAS reporting processes that avoid unnecessary duplication and hurdles that an additional state-level requirement would create,” the association wrote.

The National Confectioners Association, which counts Cargill Inc. among its members, argued in a May 2025 memo “FDA is best positioned to oversee GRAS notifications and substances” and in February wrote to New York legislators renewing its opposition.

In its February memo, the candy group estimated mandatory GRAS reports could involve about 1,800 substances and cost the state more than $35 million to collect and publish.

Yet, a December 2025 letter to the White House signed by several groups representing those same companies—the International Food Additives Council, North American Millers’ Association, and National Association of Manufacturers—warned the FDA against exceeding its legal authority by making companies wait to roll out new ingredients while reviewing GRAS assessments.

“Requiring notifications for every GRAS conclusion would significantly increase administrative and legal burdens, slow innovation, delay market entry, and disproportionately affect small and mid-sized firms,” the groups wrote.

Many food sector groups have also formed the Americans for Ingredient Transparency, a coalition lobbying Congress to pass federal legislation overhauling the GRAS framework and preempt states, according to its website.

Federal lawmakers have introduced several bills to change ingredient disclosure, but none have been passed by the US House or Senate.

“The industry is out on its front foot here wanting to work with the FDA and the administration on really these consequential and monumental improvements to the system,” said John Hewitt, the Consumer Brands Association’s senior vice president of state affairs. CBA is a part of the coalition.

A report released this week raised concern that New York and California “can’t afford their proposed GRAS legislation.” It was published by Americans for Food and Beverage Choice, a coalition that includes the American Beverage Association, the Consumer Brands Association, and the National Confectioners Association.

‘Elaborate and disingenuous fiction’

Kavanagh, the New York state senator, said he wasn’t perturbed by the stir their bills have caused.

He dismissed concerns his proposal would disrupt the food economy and limit affordable options as “an elaborate and disingenuous fiction.”

Nor is he concerned about the proposal straining state resources. Rough estimates, Kavanagh said, indicate it could cost state regulators less than $250,000 to build the infrastructure for food companies to submit ingredient disclosures and a website to publicize that information.

“We believe that they have ample resources to comply and I think their objection is really, they don’t want to disclose what they’re putting in people’s food,” he added, referring to food manufacturers.

A key group encouraging states to adopt—and in some cases, helping draft—these bills is the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit that advocates on nutrition and food safety policy.

“The more you get more states that do good bills, the better industry’s going to have to do until finally industry’s going to say, ‘You know what? We’re going to reformulate all the way across the country,’” said Jensen Jose, the organization’s regulatory counsel.

California Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D), the latest state lawmaker to sponsor a GRAS bill, has a similar vision.

“When California leans into healthy nutrition standards,” Addis said, “I actually think that’s going to end up setting the stage for the rest of the nation.”