New York State passed a first-in-the-nation bill to improve transparency in food additives.

May 21, 2026

The wins keep coming for FoodFight USA and our warriors! New York State passed a first-in-the-nation bill that could dramatically improve transparency in food additives. It now awaits the signature of Governor Hochul. This presents a huge opportunity to improve the American food supply and tossing out toxic additives. 

The “Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act” represents a huge step forward. This law – passed with unanimous bipartisan approval – will require that food companies disclose chemical additives they put in food, specifically those additives that the companies themselves have determined to be safe without FDA approval. 

This law MASSIVELY improves transparency for the over 10,000 food chemicals in our system. Nearly all food additives in the United States enter our food system without federal oversight, this is through a legal loophole called “GRAS.” In short, food manufacturers get to decide for themselves if a chemical is safe or not, and they don’t even have to disclose what the chemical is, or science proving its safety. As our founder, Todd Wagner, explains, “This is a uniquely American problem—no other country gives companies this kind of power to self-regulate. In much of the world, regulatory systems rely on independent scientific review, require pre-market approval, and account for cumulative effects. As a result, approved additives are in the hundreds, not thousands. It’s time for the US to catch up by requiring public disclosure.”

But under New York’s new law, food manufacturers will have to disclose all ingredients not previously disclosed to the FDA and publish the science and research supporting safety claims. This information will then be made available to the public, allowing scientists, NGO’s, government agencies, and concerned citizens to look at the data and decide for themselves if these ingredients are actually safe. 

Closing the GRAS loophole at the federal level is a central issue for FoodFight USA, but states often lead the way on health issues. Sec. Kennedy and HHS have shown interest in closing the GRAS loophole, but special interests from food and chemical companies have blocked any attempts at the federal level to better regulate food additives and ingredients. The successful passage of New York’s new law proves that the food companies can be beaten, and that citizens are demanding better transparency and accountability over what goes in their food. 

FoodFight USA will always be at the forefront of these battles and is proud of working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in New York and beyond to educate and inform about these issues. But it doesn’t stop with New York. Again, our Founder, Todd Wagner, said in a recent interview:  “This landmark  legislation sets the U.S. on the right track toward cleaning up our tainted food supply, and we hope that other states and the federal government will soon follow.” 

So we ask you, FoodFight USA warriors, to encourage your own states to push for transparency in food additives.