Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) has introduced the Safe School Meals Act (SSMA), S.5084.
- This bill would place limits on heavy metals, ban certain pesticide residues, trigger the safety reassessment of food additives including artificial food dyes and ban the use of PFAS, phthalates, and bisphenols in school food packaging.
- It would also increase funding available for schools to follow these guidelines.
SSMA would impact school meal programs by:
- Directing the FDA to set safe limits for heavy metals in school meals. The limits would be based on a threshold of reasonable certainty of no harm to school-age children from aggregate exposure. If the agencies fail to set these limits within two years, the limits will automatically be set to non-detectable until the agencies can determine a safe level of exposure.
- Banning glyphosate, paraquat and organophosphate pesticide residues in school meals. Certified organic farms would automatically meet this requirement.
- Banning PFAS, phthalates, lead and bisphenols in food packaging in school meals.
- Directing FDA to reevaluate food additives with known carcinogenic, reproductive or developmental health harms, such as artificial food dyes, and ban their use in school meals prior to the completion of FDA’s analysis.
SNA will monitor the movement of the bill in the Senate. Use the SNA Action Network’s Federal Bill Tracker to see how other school nutrition bills are progressing in Congress.
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