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Food industry groups sue Texas over ingredient labels

Groups representing companies such as Kraft Heinz and Coca-Cola sue Texas to block a new law requiring warning labels, arguing it misleads consumers.

The food trade groups, including the Food Industry Association and the American Beverage Association, have sued Texas, arguing that the regulation’s mandated disclosures are false and misleading. Furthermore, the coalition has said that the law’s proposed labels are pre-empted by federal law and violate companies’ First Amendment rights to free speech.

Under the new state law, which forms part of the Texas Senate Bill 25, also known as ‘Make Texas Healthy Again’, there are new warnings for 44 ingredients deemed unsafe by other countries. The proposals were signed into law in June 2025, and the required ingredient warning labels will come into force on F&B product packaging from January 2027.

Designed to remove new requirements from law and avoid confusing customers, the leading trade groups asked a federal judge on 5th December to block part of the Texas Senate Bill 25. The proposed block pertains to section 9 of the law, which requires F&B producers to include warning labels on products containing additives such as dyes, preservatives and chemicals. These banned artificial ingredients make up the 44 listed ingredients.

When introduced into law in June, Republican state senator Lois Kolkhorst, the law’s sponsor, said it sought to help US families make better food choices. “With this legislation, I am hopeful that food manufacturers will remove the harmful ingredients and choose not to have to label their products,” Kolkhorst said in a press release.

Calley Means, advisor at the White House, said on his X account: “Amazingly, this was the single most lobbied-against bill in the state of Texas this year–with back-room arguments to oppose consumer transparency, nutrition education, and expanded recesses for kids. Common sense is winning.”

Looking at other countries’ laws

Implementing the new law, Texas informed consumers that various governments overseas, including Australia, Canada, the European Union (EU), and the UK, have labelled the 44 listed ingredients as “not recommended for human consumption”.

However, the food and drink trade groups emphasise that these warning label requirements are “false and misleading”. They also state that the overseas governments listed in the ‘Make Texas Healthy Again’ law do not categorically refer to the 44 listed ingredients as “not recommended for human consumption”. Furthermore, according to Reuters, the lawsuit specifies that these nations’ markets do allow many of them to be included in food manufacturing and finished products.

“The listed ingredients have been used safely in American foods and beverages for decades,” the trade groups said in their complaint. “Section 9’s warning requirement compels businesses to tell Texas consumers that the enumerated ingredients are ‘not recommended for human consumption’ abroad – even when that isn’t true.”

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs also state that the Texas labelling law violates the US Constitution’s First Amendment free speech protections. In addition, the plaintiffs said it violates the Commerce Clause, as enforcing this law in Texas gives one state undue influence over interstate commerce and is pre-empted by federal regulations.

A pressure point for producers

Concerns exist about the clarity of the new law, with trade groups highlighting that most ingredients are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and that some are already subject to federal labelling requirements.

Relevance has also come under question, as the FDA has already banned some of the listed ingredients, such as certain red dyes and synthetic trans fatty acids, the lawsuit indicated, conveying the added confusion the new law causes.

Associated costs attached to the new law also pose a problem for under-pressure companies, the trade groups noted in the lawsuit. Ahead of the January 2027 start date, the labelling requirement demands research and development (R&D) teams, manufacturers and marketers make changes to their production pipelines.

In anticipation of the law’s implementation date, companies will need to reformulate their products to exclude the listed ingredients from their recipes, modify their supply chains, introduce new compliance mechanisms, or increase their packaging redesign budgets.