AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 6, relative to school nutrition.
HB1853 amends Tennessee’s school nutrition law to prohibit local education agencies (LEAs) and public charter schools from selling, offering for sale, or providing students food or beverage items on school property through a school nutrition program if those items contain certain petroleum-based synthetic dyes. The bill specifically names Red 40, Red 3, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3, and ties each dye to its chemical registry number and common food-coloring name.
The restriction applies beginning August 1, 2027, with a transition rule for schools that contract with third-party food providers. Existing contracts entered into before that date may continue to be used, but any new, renewed, or amended contracts on or after August 1, 2027 must comply. The bill is framed as a school nutrition measure and would affect school meal programs, vending or food service arrangements on school property, and vendors that supply food and beverages to schools.
The bill would add a new statewide restriction to Title 49, Chapter 6 of the Tennessee Code governing school nutrition programs. It would require LEAs and public charter schools to review menus, ingredients, and food-service contracts to ensure that covered products do not contain the listed synthetic dyes, and it would likely require vendors to reformulate products or provide dye-free alternatives for school use. The law would not ban these dyes generally in Tennessee, but it would limit their use in food and beverage items sold or provided to students through school nutrition programs on school property.
The available voting history suggests the bill was generally well received in committee. It advanced from the House Education Administration Subcommittee by a 4-1 vote and then from the House Education Committee by an 8-0 vote, indicating broad support with only limited opposition at the subcommittee stage. No committee transcripts were provided, so the record does not show detailed debate, but the votes suggest a favorable overall sentiment toward restricting these dyes in school food.
The main point of contention appears to be whether schools should be required to remove these specific synthetic dyes from food and beverage offerings, and how quickly that requirement should take effect. Potential concerns include the cost and feasibility of reformulating menus, renegotiating contracts, and finding compliant products for school nutrition programs. The grandfathering of pre-August 1, 2027 contracts suggests lawmakers were attentive to implementation burdens, especially for schools that rely on third-party food service providers.