California lawmaker leads nationwide push to ban harmful food additives

Jesse Gabriel, a third-term Democratic assemblymember, was shocked by a memo detailing chemicals such as Red No. 3 and potassium bromate in everyday foods, prompting him to sponsor the California Food Safety Act in 2023. The law banned four additives and set a precedent that other states have followed, with similar bills introduced in 43 states and passed in 15. Gabriel continued with the California School Food Safety Act, eliminating six synthetic dyes from public-school meals and gaining unanimous legislative support.

In 2025 he helped pass the Real Food, Healthy Kids Act, which defined ultraprocessed foods and authorized bans on products high in sugar, salt or fat. Federal efforts under HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have been limited to voluntary disclosures, leaving state lawmakers like Gabriel to drive most of the progress. He now faces potential federal preemption attempts and is preparing to lobby Washington to protect state gains.