The Illinois Senate Bill SB2637 was proposed on November 7, 2023, and given to the state's Public Health committee for consideration on January 24. If signed into law, it will take effect on January 1, 2027, and would amend the Illinois Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. It states:

"Beginning January 1, 2027, a person or entity shall not manufacture, sell, deliver, distribute, hold, or offer for sale a food product for human consumption that contains brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, or red dye."

This could prove problematic for candy producers.

The Institute of Food Technologists, a Chicago-based nonprofit food-science organization consisting of more than 11,000 members across academia, government, and industry, has released the following statement in response to Illinois Senate Bill SB2637:

“Modeled after the recently passed California Food Safety Act, Illinois Senate Bill SB2637 (Illinois Food Safety Act) would amend the state’s Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, banning products with brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and red dye #3. If passed into law, Illinois food companies would be faced with the challenge of determining the impact to their products, supply chains, and businesses. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced plans to revoke approval of brominated vegetable oil and is evaluating the safety of red dye #3. Contradicting patchwork policies between federal and state regulators undermines consumer trust and creates challenging interstate distribution. 

Compliance with new legislation or regulation requirements is an expensive endeavor with costs stemming from a multitude of one-time and ongoing expenses. Examples include researching alternative ingredients, developing and testing alternative products, navigating higher ingredient costs, designing new labels, setting up new supply chains and more. If passed into law, compliance with the new requirements is achievable for Illinois food companies but will require focused collaboration across multiple technical and business roles. Some businesses may consider which products they produce in or distribute to Illinois, or they may opt to leave the market entirely depending on their individual business plans and priorities.

IFT believes food safety is paramount for a food system that consumers trust, and that science is critical for establishing evidence-based policies to ensure a global food system that is sustainable, safe, nutritious, and accessible to all. A state enacting food safety legislation that conflicts with FDA regulations reinforces the need for integrating modern science and technology into the global food supply and its governance. As time and resources are limited, complying with conflicting legislative and regulatory requirements diverts resources away from other critical food safety, nutrition, and sustainability priorities.”

When asked for comment, Carly Schildhaus, director of public affairs and communications, National Confectioners Association, said:

"This is a complete overstep by legislators who are out of their depth when it comes to our nation’s science-based food safety system. We should rely on the scientific rigor of FDA in terms of evaluating the safety of food ingredients and additives, not state legislatures. The proposed bill would replace a uniform national food safety system with a patchwork of inconsistent state requirements created by legislative fiat that will increase food costs, undermine consumer confidence, and create confusion around food safety.

A number of the ingredients and additives in the Illinois proposed ban are currently under FDA review or were recently reviewed. In the case of brominated vegetable oil (BVO), FDA recently conducted its own studies and has initiated steps to remove BVO from the U.S. food supply. This is how our food safety system was designed to work, and it’s a real-time example of it working. The Illinois proposal would also ban an additional additive, titanium dioxide. This ignores recent findings that the color additive is safe by FDA in 2021 and a World Health Organization expert committee in October 2023."