Alaska Senate advances bill to ban certain food dyes in school meals

Children pick up their school lunches. (Amanda Mills/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

By Haley Lehman

Alaska Beacon

The Alaska Senate passed a bill Monday that would ban public schools in Alaska from serving certain food dyes in school breakfasts or lunches.

Lawmakers expressed concerns that certain petroleum-based food dyes in processed foods have unhealthy side effects on children.

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, the sponsor of Senate Bill 187, said Monday, “We like to sell our petroleum to fuel our cars and generate our power plants, not to feed our kids.”

Wielechowski pointed to studies that suggested that artificial dyes are linked to increased hyperactivity, inattentiveness and allergic reactions in children.

The bill would ban red dyes Nov. 3 and No. 40, yellow dyes No. 5 and No. 6, blue dyes No. 1 and No. 2 and green dye No. 3.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a campaign in April 2025 to eliminate synthetic dyes from the U.S. food supply by the end of 2027 and to authorize natural color alternatives. Alaska proposes banning the same food dye in schools that HHS and the FDA are working with the food industry to eliminate.

The bill received strong support from Alaska Community Action on Toxics and opposition from the International Association of Color Manufacturers, which maintains that synthetic dyes are safe for consumers.

Carlee Johnson McIntosh, Petersburg School District food service director, wrote in a letter to legislators that the bill aligns with work the school district is already doing to remove synthetic dyes from school meal programs. She said the bill would not create a significant burden for the school district.

“Schools should be environments where students are set up for success, and access to nutritious meals plays an important role in that success,” Johnson McIntosh wrote. “Establishing these standards in state law would demonstrate Alaska’s ongoing commitment to student health, regardless of potential shifts at the federal level.”

The bill passed the Senate with 19 yes votes. Sen. Donny Olson, D-Golovin, was excused absent. 

If it passes the House and becomes law, it would go into effect in January 2028. Alaska would join states including Arizona, California, Delaware, Louisiana, Virginia and West Virginia in banning artificial food dyes in schools.

• Haley Lehman graduated from James Madison University and reported for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.