Tallahassee –The sponsors of a bipartite bill requiring warning labels on Florida Food and Beverages containing synthetic dyes defended their measure Thursday against criticism affirming that this would create a harmful “nanny state” for small businesses.
While the bill, which has 10 co-sponsors of the State House, aligns with the new secretary of health and social services Robert F. Kennedy, the mission “Make America Healthy Again” of JR to eradicate food and additives, conservatives like Maga Podcaster Laura Loomer and representative Juan Carish Porras.
But at a press conference Thursday, alongside Republican senator Jonathan Martin, a pediatrician from North Carolina, a serial entrepreneur and a social media influencer called “The Food Babe”, the co-sponsors representing the Debra Tendrich and Lindsay Cross, both Democrats, rejected criticism.
Tendrich, a first -year legislator of Palm Beach, underlined the history of Florida to the implementation of specific food regulations, including a controversial ban on cultivated meat and a bill requiring labels on hemp products, which Governor Ron Desantis opposed his opinion opposite to his opinion.
“In the past, we have shown the priority to create specific packaging and food requirements in Florida,” said Tendrich. “The way this bill is designed, the responsibility is responsible for manufacturers. This is designed specifically to protect small businesses against injuries.”
Cross, Saint-Pete representative, stressed that state action could push the federal government to act on food dyes, such as Red 40, Yellow 5 or titanium dioxide.
“We are looking forward to the federal government to take all these measures. This is why it is up to us as Florida legislature to start this process and promulgate some of these good bills,” said Cross.
The bill, HB 641, has an identical counterpart in the Senate sponsored by the republican senator Tom Wright. This is part of a huge push by Florida legislators to work in tandem with the new Trump administration on health -related efforts. Inspired mainly by RFK, the agenda of JR. to increase the slowdown in chronic disease rates, Cross and Martin have also deposited a measure prohibiting certain chemical additives in food and drinks.
From July 1, 2026, HB 641 would require warning labels that disclose synthetic colors and their “potential adverse effect on activity and attention in children” on food and drinks containing colors like Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 or Titanium Dioxide – whose men are prohibited or limited in European nations. Manufacturers would initially be authorized to apply the warning label with an adhesive sticker until December 31, 2028, after which it should be printed directly on the packaging.
Not all Republicans believe that this is useful at the Trump agenda.
“This bill hampered the work of the Trump administration and the mandate of the American people. Legislation like this, filed by a Democrat, seeks to provide Californian regulations in Florida,” said Porras representative, a generation Z legislator known to compete with Desantis, published on social networks. “Let us authorize @Robertkennnedyjr to solve this problem at the federal level!”
Loomer, an eminent influencer with more than a million followers on X, said that he will open the way to a “nanny state” leading to “inter-state chaos and the destruction of small businesses”.
“These regulations will kill business for small businesses based in Florida in the food and drinks industry that cannot afford the costly labeling and inspection rules 24/7 that large companies can afford,” she wrote, dragging the supposed liberal influence of the Vani Hari food influencer – “The Food Babe” – and Todd Wagner, Mark Cuban, also present at the press conference.
