Sponsored by:
Senator ANDREW ZWICKER
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator RAJ MUKHERJI
District 32 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Testa and McKnight
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits certain substances in sale, distribution, and manufacture of commercial foods for human consumption; bans certain substances in school food.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on December 8, 2025, with amendments.
An Act prohibiting certain substances in the sale, distribution, and manufacture of commercial foods 1for human consumption, prohibiting certain artificial dyes in school food,1 and amending R.S.24:5-8 1and P.L.2007, c.451.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.24:5-8 is amended to read as follows:
24:5-8. For the purposes of this subtitle food 1for human consumption1 shall be deemed adulterated:
A. (1) If 1[it] the food1 bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render 1[it] the food1 injurious to health; but in case the substance is not an added substance such food shall not be considered adulterated under this clause if the quantity of such substance in such food does not ordinarily render 1[it] the food1 injurious to health; or
(2) If 1[it] the food1 bears or contains any added poisonous or added deleterious substance which is unsafe within the meaning of regulations promulgated by the Department of Health limiting the quantity therein or thereon to such extent as the Department of Health 1[of the State of New Jersey]1 finds necessary for the protection of the public health; or
(3) If 1[it] the food1 consists in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance, or if 1[it] the food1 is otherwise unfit for food; or
(4) If 1[it] the food1 has been produced, prepared, packed 1,1 or held under insanitary conditions whereby 1[it] the food1 may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby 1[it] the food1 may have been rendered injurious to health; or
(5) If 1[it] the food1 is in whole or in part the product of an animal which has not been inspected, and the meat of such animal passed as fit for food:
(a) By an official federal inspector; or
(b) By such officer or person as shall be qualified for such purpose in accordance with, and in such manner as shall be prescribed by, regulations adopted by the State department, if such inspection is required by such regulations, or if 1[it] the food1 is in whole or in part the product of an animal which has died otherwise than by slaughter; or
(6) If 1[its] the food’s1 container is composed, in whole or in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render the contents injurious to health; or
(7) If, during the course of 1[its] the food’s1 processing, 1[it] the food1 has been exposed to, or treated with, ionized radiation, except that this paragraph shall not apply to any spice so exposed or treated.
B. (1) If any valuable constituent has been in whole or in part omitted or abstracted therefrom; or
(2) If any substance has been substituted wholly or in part therefor; or
(3) If damage or inferiority has been concealed in any manner; or
(4) If any substance has been added thereto or mixed or packaged therewith so as to increase 1[its] the food’s1 bulk or weight, or reduce 1[its] the food’s1 quality or strength or make 1[it] the food1 appear better or of greater value than 1[it is] the food possesses1.
C. If 1[it] the food1 falls below the standard of purity, quality or strength which 1[it] the food1 purports or is represented to possess.
D. If 1[it] the food1 bears or contains a coal-tar color other than one from a batch that has been certified under the federal act.
E. If 1[it] the food1 contains any of these substances:
(1) Brominated vegetable oil (CAS no. 8016-94-2);
(2) Potassium bromate (CAS no. 7758-01-2);
(3) Propylparaben (CAS no. 94-13-3); 1or1
(4) Red dye 3 (CAS no. 16423-68-0).
(cf: P.L.1989, c.203, s.1)
2. Section 2 of P.L.2007, c.45 (C.18A:33-16) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. 1 [As of September 2007, the] The1 following items shall not be served, sold 1,1 or given away as a free promotion anywhere on school property at any time before the end of the school day, including items served in the reimbursable After School Snack Program:
(1) Foods of minimal nutritional value, as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture;
(2) All food and beverage items listing sugar, in any form, as the first ingredient; 1[and]1
(3) All forms of candy as defined by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture1; and
(4) The following substances:
(a) Red 40 (CAS no. 25956-17-6);
(b) Yellow 5 (CAS no. 1934-21-0);
(c) Yellow 6 (CAS no. 2783-94-0);
(d) Blue 1 (CAS no. 3844-45-9);
(e) Blue 2 (CAS no. 860-22-0); and
(f) Green 3 (CAS no. 2353-45-9)1.
b. Schools shall reduce the purchase of any products containing trans fats beginning September 1, 2007.
c. As of September 2007, all snack and beverage items, sold or served anywhere on school property during the school day, including items sold in a la carte lines, vending machines, snack bars, school stores and fundraisers, or served in the reimbursable After School Snack Program, shall meet the following standards:
(1) Based on manufacturers' nutritional data or nutrient facts labels, no more than eight grams of total fat per serving, with the exception of nuts and seeds, and no more than two grams of saturated fat per serving;
(2) All beverages, other than milk containing two percent or less fat, or water, shall not exceed a 12-ounce portion size; and whole milk may not exceed an eight-ounce portion;
(3) In elementary schools, beverages shall be limited to milk, water or 100 percent fruit or vegetable juices;
(4) In middle and high schools, at least 60 percent of all beverages offered, other than milk or water, must be 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice; and
(5) In middle and high schools, no more than 40 percent of all ice cream and frozen desserts shall be allowed to exceed the above standards for sugar, fat and saturated fat.
d. Food and beverages served during special school celebrations or during curriculum-related activities shall be exempt from the provisions of this section, with the exception of foods of minimal nutritional value as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture.
e. The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
(1) Medically authorized special needs diets as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture;
(2) School nurses using foods of minimal nutritional value during the course of providing health care to individual students; or
(3) Special needs students whose Individual Education Plan indicates a particular diet.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.45, s.2)
1[2] 3. [This] Section 1 of this1 act shall take effect on the first day of the 1[13th] thirteenth1 month next following 1the date of1 enactment, except that the Commissioner of Health may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act 1; section 2 of this act shall take effect on August 1, 2028, except that the Commissioner of Education may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act1.