Federal lawsuit filed to strike portion of new Texas food labeling law

AUSTIN, Texas - A federal lawsuit has been filed to strike out a portion of Texas’ new food labeling law. 

What we know:

Senate Bill 25 went into effect in September and now requires all food manufacturers doing business in Texas to put warning labels on their products if they contain 44 specific artificial colors, chemicals and additives banned or restricted by other countries. 

Those countries include Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union.

What they're saying:

Attorneys for a coalition of manufacturers and food industry advocates argue the warning labels are false and misleading because some of the ingredients that would require labeling are actually legal in those foreign countries. 

The plaintiffs contend that the First Amendment rights of Texas businesses will be violated by the law because they will be forced to display this false label. 

According to the lawsuit, argued on First Amendment grounds, warnings would be placed on items like tortillas, soap, salad dressings and ice cream. Examples of the flagged ingredients cited in the lawsuit include: lye, acetylated esters of monoglycerides and acetylated esters of diolycerdes. 

The rules for SB 25 were written by the Texas Department of State Health Services and will apply to products made after January 1, 2027.

The food industry coalition says it supports most of SB 25 but does not want to cede authority to foreign regulators.

Violating the new state labeling law carries penalties up to $50,000 a day.

Read the lawsuit below: