By The Defender Staff
New York Senate Passes Bill That Would Ban Food Additive Often Found in Pizza, Bagels Due to Reported Links to Cancer
New York is one step closer to banning an additive often found in pizza flour.
On April 21, 2026, Senate Bill S1239A passed the New York State Assembly and Senate. The Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act, if signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, will ban certain food and food color additives, including one that is often found in a key ingredient in pizza and bagels.
One of the chemicals banned by the bill is potassium bromate, which is often used in flour to strengthen dough, allowing it to rise higher and appear whiter, per the Environmental Working Group. The additive has been linked to causing cancer and kidney function deterioration, according to a study in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal.
State Senator Brian Kavanagh, who sponsored the bill, told PEOPLE this “bill is intended to address the fact that our federal food safety system has major gaps that expose people to unnecessary health risks when they eat food in our country.”
Eating Foods Not Wrapped in Plastic Dramatically Cuts Toxic Chemicals Found in Urine
Altering diet to only eat foods that have no contact with plastic, across the entire distribution chain, is shown to lower several plastic-linked chemicals found in human urine. The finding reframes everyday eating habits as a direct, short-term lever on chemical exposure inside the body.
Urine samples collected across a tightly controlled seven-day period captured measurable drops in plastic-associated chemicals as participants reduced plastic contact from farm to plate. By linking those shifts to real-world behaviors, Michaela Lucas at the University of Western Australia demonstrated that limiting plastic touchpoints during food handling and consumption drives rapid declines in specific chemical traces.
The effect held even when calorie intake stayed constant, indicating the change came from exposure pathways rather than diet quantity or weight loss.
New Mexico Bans ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Food Packaging, Cookware; Sets PFAS Labeling Rules
Food Safety Magazine reported:
Beginning January 1, 2027, food packaging and cookware containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) will be banned from sale in New Mexico. Additional items will be added to the list of goods that cannot contain intentionally added PFAS in January 2028, and by January 2032, all products sold in New Mexico will be prohibited from containing intentionally added PFAS, unless an exemption is made for a product because the use of PFAS is “currently unavoidable.”
After January 1, 2027, products containing intentionally added PFAS sold in New Mexico must bear a label informing the customer of the presence of PFAS. The label must clearly inform the consumer that the product contains intentionally added PFAS, depicting an outline of an Erlenmeyer flask with the word “PFAS” inside the flask.
These regulations were laid out in a final rule published in the New Mexico Register on May 5, enforcing provisions of the New Mexico PFAS Protection Act, which was signed into law in April 2025.
USDA Requires SNAP Authorized Retailers to Carry More Real Food
The United States Department of Agriculture reported:
Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the final rule regarding stocking standards for retailers participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), ensuring a broader variety of nutritious food is available to SNAP participants at authorized retailers across the country.
Since the beginning of the Trump Administration, the Food and Nutrition Service has taken action on nearly 3,200 retailers regarding current stocking standards, either for failing to meet them upon application or failing to maintain them once authorized. The latter results in disqualification from accepting SNAP benefits.
“To turn the tide on our nation’s health crisis, we need to ensure our nutrition assistance programs emphasize real food first, and that’s exactly what these updates to SNAP retailer requirements will do,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins.
“SNAP authorized retailers accept over $90 billion a year, or $236 million a day, in taxpayer dollars — USDA is making sure they’re actually in the business of selling food.
And for those retailers who are the only food outpost for miles, I know you will be so excited to serve your customers and communities healthy food.” “This rule puts real food back at the center of SNAP,” said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
USDA Plan to Jack up Line Speeds at Meatpacking Plants Seems Like a Terrible Idea
In February, the United States Department of Agriculture announced two proposed changes to federal rules governing the rate of production in meat processing plants — a move advocates say would endanger workers, public health, and the environment. One proposed amendment would raise the maximum line speeds in poultry slaughter from 140 birds per minute to 175 for chicken and from 55 birds per minute to 60 for turkey.
For swine slaughter, the agency is proposing there be no cap on line speed at all.
Last week, the public comment period for the proposed amendments came to a close. If finalized, these changes would “lower production costs and create greater stability in our food system” as well as help “keep groceries more affordable,” said Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins back in February.
The proposals are in line with other Trump administration policies that encourage higher meat consumption among Americans — like the revised food pyramid with its emphasis on eating more protein. But despite the promise of lower costs and higher efficiency, experts say these proposed rollbacks pose more risks than benefits to the public.
Beyond Meat Endures Another Poor Quarter as It Charts New York Rollout of Protein Drinks
Beyond Meat experienced a 15% decline in sales in Q1 2026, with hopes of a turnaround hinged on retail launches of its plant protein drinks and mycelium steak.
After posting its worst financial year as a public company in 2025, this year wasn’t off to a much better start either for Beyond Meat.
The Californian plant-based pioneer recorded revenues of just $58.2M in the first three months of 2026, a 15.3% year-on-year decline. This was its lowest quarterly total since 2019, in line with analysts’ forecast of $58.1M. Not for the first time, Beyond Meat’s earnings make for grim reading. Its revenues fell to an all-time low in 2025, a year when it saw its share price fall to an all-time low, became a meme stock, had to deny rumours of bankruptcy, and received a delisting warning from Nasdaq.
These woes led the company to diversify beyond meat alternatives, beginning with the Beyond Immerse line of drinks, which launched and ushered in a rebrand to Beyond The Plant Protein Company. Over the coming months, these protein beverages will form the centre of the firm’s efforts to stabilise its business — but they won’t be alone.
The post New York Senate Passes Bill That Would Ban Food Additive Often Found in Pizza, Bagels Due to Reported Links to Cancer + More appeared first on Children’s Health Defense.
IPAK-EDU is grateful to The Defender as this piece was originally published there and is included in this news feed with mutual agreement. Read More
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