AMERICANALMANAC (Jonah Adams) - Arizona bans food dyes in public schools, ending the classroom birthday cupcake as parents knew it
Arizona's new Healthy Schools Act now bars public schools from serving store-bought birthday cupcakes and other treats containing common food dyes, and the only enforcement mechanism is a compliance list on a government website. The law, House Bill 2164, took effect at the start of the 2026, 2027 school year, which is already underway. It […] The post Arizona bans food dyes in public schools, ending the classroom birthday cupcake as parents knew it appeared first on American Almanac .
Arizona's new Healthy Schools Act now bars public schools from serving store-bought birthday cupcakes and other treats containing common food dyes, and the only enforcement mechanism is a compliance list on a government website. The law, House Bill 2164, took effect at the start of the 2026, 2027 school year, which is already underway. It forbids Arizona schools from serving or selling any food or beverage that contains one of 11 specified dyes and chemical additives. That list covers some of the most widely used colorings in American packaged food: red dye 3, red dye 40, yellow dye 5, yellow dye 6, blue dye 1, blue dye 2, and green dye 3. It also bans potassium bromate, propylparaben, titanium dioxide, and brominated vegetable oil. …Open