“New Yorkers have a right to know what’s in our food. This legislation is a step in that direction.”
A supermarket in Inwood. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)
New York missed a crucial opportunity to prioritize public health and strengthen our food safety laws this year.
Like other states turning their attention to the dangers in our food supply, we had the Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act on our docket—a bill that would mandate new transparency requirements for chemicals used in foods sold statewide and ban three harmful food additives. But food industry giants have lobbied against it, saying that basic accountability will disrupt small businesses.
In actuality, the bill costs us nothing and only demands transparency from large manufacturers, retailers, and suppliers. As president of the Bodega and Small Business Group (BSBG) and a lifelong Bronx bodega owner myself, I support this bill. Small businesses must get this legislation passed at the very next available opportunity, to make sure large companies aren’t putting unsafe products on our shelves. New York families deserve safe food options, and it’s time for the food industry to commit to fulfilling this promise.
Our federal food safety laws remain dangerously outdated, leaving consumers in the dark about toxic chemicals in their food. Mega-corporations have capitalized on loopholes to bypass U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversight by secretly designating food chemicals as “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS.
Historically, GRAS designation was reserved for common ingredients like vinegar and spices. But now, after skipping safety reviews altogether, large companies are self-certifying their products as GRAS and placing them on our shelves, making consumers purchase items without a clue about their hidden risks.
Additives like Red No. 3, potassium bromate, and propylparaben are already banned or severely restricted in other nations because of their links to cancer, hormone disruption, and other serious conditions. But in America, these chemicals remain in countless household foods, including our cereals, beverages, candies, and popular treats for kids, who are already more susceptible to developmental delays.
Sponsored by Senator Brian Kavanagh and Assemblymember Dr. Anna Kelles, this bill directly restricts these chemicals in foods, while introducing a simple, online disclosure requirement—strictly for large companies adding secret chemicals to products and circumventing FDA safety review. Once companies submit sufficient evidence, the State Department of Agriculture and Markets simply publicizes the chemicals for public health officials, including the FDA, to flag any harmful ones in use.
This legislation doesn’t affect proven GRAS ingredients, packaging, or product labeling, and includes exemptions for small businesses with fewer than 100 employees and retailers. It’s a commonsense protection for children and families that helps restore trust and keep New Yorkers safe. So why aren’t we jumping at the opportunity?
Big Food helped strike the bill down. We met with industry leaders and requested more details in order to join their opposition memo. They framed the bill as an expensive set of rules that would impact all food businesses, despite its exemptions. We received no further information; however, they added my business logo to their memo without my reconfirmation.
I’m not alone. On one hand, industry assures us that their food is completely safe. On the other, they’re trying to convince us that it’ll be costly to show proof that their food is safe for us to sell, and even disrupt small businesses and low-income communities. This blatant double-dealing is the very epitome of the kind of secrecy and predatory business practices this bill would outlaw.
As a South Bronx native who opened my first bodega at the age of 19, I know how many New Yorkers struggle to access fresh, healthy food. Our borough already faces the highest rates of food insecurity and chronic diet-related diseases in the state—in some neighborhoods bodegas even outnumber supermarkets 37 to 1. It’s why BSBG is doing our part to meet families where they are, working directly with community to increase healthy food options at corner stores through our Hunts Point Healthy Bodega Pilot.
After reviewing more details, we stand ready to support the bill and the health of our customers. Families already have enough on their plates when trying to provide safe, nutritious food for their households, without having to stress about secret toxins. Yet in the borough that ranked dead last in health outcomes—for the 17th consecutive year—some in the industry find it appropriate to ramp up a misinformation campaign when small business owners are ready to guarantee food transparency for our customers.
We cannot compromise on the health of our children and families. Letting corporations claim that their food is safe without ever showing proof simply defies reason.
New Yorkers have a right to know what’s in our food. This legislation is a step in that direction. Next year, Albany must do everything in its power to block out the noise and pass the Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act immediately.
Francisco Marte is the president of the New York Bodegas Association and founder of the Bodega and Small Business Group (BSBG).
The post Opinion: New York Must Pass the Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act appeared first on City Limits.
