There’s a call for Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign nation-leading food safety legislation into law before the end of the year.
The legislation is part of a package with backing from multiple state lawmakers and advocates.
On Wednesday, the Center for the Science in the Public Interest held a virtual press conference with lawmakers who sponsored the legislation.
They say these reforms are necessary to clean up New York’s food supply and create greater consumer transparency amid a weakened U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“It represents New York state stepping in where the federal government has failed,” said Democratic state Sen. Brian Kavanagh.
Amid federal cuts, state lawmakers say they passed sweeping food reform bills this past legislative session to help New Yorkers make more informed choices on how they’re nourishing their bodies.
“The reason it’s bipartisan is because people have lost confidence in our system, because of the opaqueness that exists because food companies do not have to tell us what’s in our food,” said Democratic state Assemblymember Anna Kelles.
The legislative package contains five pieces of legislation including the Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act which mandates transparency guidelines for chemicals in food including harmful additives like Red No. 3.
The Baby Food and Infant Formula Safety and Transparency Act, with the lack of a federal standard, this legislation mandates testing of baby food and infant formula for toxic heavy metals with the results publicly disclosed.
The Sodium Warning Bill requires a sodium warning on chain restaurant menus.
“We want to make sure people have the information available to them because the food environment that we’re up against makes it difficult for the average New Yorker to make healthy choices, said Democratic state Sen. Gustavo Rivera, Chair of the New York Senate Committee on Health.
The Good Food NY bill targets the complete process of how food is sourced, bought and managed. It will allow for municipalities to prioritize healthy, locally sourced and produced food over the lowest bid.
The Food Date Labeling Act will establish uniform food date labels that are anticipated to help reduce consumer confusion and cut food waste.
On whether Hochul is planning on signing the bills into law, a spokesperson from her office tells Spectrum News 1. “The Governor will review the bills.”