SALT LAKE CITY  — Utah became the fourth state to ban food and beverages containing certain food colors in public schools, joining California, Virginia and West Virginia.

Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox on March 27 signed House Bill No. 402 into law. The law prohibits food items containing certain food additives from being provided in public schools. The additives are the colors Blue No. 1 and No. 2, Red No. 3 and No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and 6, and Green No. 3, as well as potassium bromate and propylparaben.

The law goes into effect for the 2026-27 school year, said state representative Kristen Chevrier, who sponsored the bill. It applies to breakfast and lunch served at school.

“There were parents who came to me and asked if I would run the bill, but I also have children who are on very restrictive diets because they have allergies,” Chevrier said. “So it was an easy sell for me because my kids can’t eat a lot of things.”

Chevrier said the decision on what ingredients to ban was made after looking at similar bills in other states and talking to retailers. The Granite School District in Utah has banned food containing certain ingredients for the past three years. She said she asked the district if the action had increased the costs of school meals.

“They said they didn’t think that it had really, but it was hard to tell because over the past three years food has increased so much (in price),” Chevrier said.

At least 20 states are considering banning at least one synthetic dye used to color food and beverages, said Claudia Lewis, a partner in Washington-based Venable LLP. State laws present logistical problems for food and beverage manufacturers.

“As a practical matter, you cannot sell one product containing ‘x’ ingredient in one state but not the other,” Lewis said. “That is very challenging to manage. I imagine that most manufacturers will use the most restrictive state as their basis for deciding how to reformulate. In other words, the most restrictive state may affect what consumers eat in every other state.”

Lewis said she has children and wants their food to be safe.

“However, we should follow the science, and it would be best if we did so in a collaborative way as opposed to on a state-by-state basis with each state coming to their own safety conclusions,” she said. “We all care about our kids, and we should be able to reach a scientific consensus on safety when it comes to what is in their food. Otherwise, there is confusion, and you are not sure what your kids should eat.”

The synthetic dyes/food colors are found in items such as confectionery, baked foods and beverages.