# The California lawmaker taking on Big Food > Jesse Gabriel has passed more food safety laws in a few years than most legislators do in their entire careers. - Title: The California lawmaker taking on Big Food · Mother Jones - Summary: Jesse Gabriel has passed more food safety laws in a few years than most legislators do in their entire careers. State legislatures, not federal regulators… - Keywords: jesse gabriel, california assembly, food safety, food additives, food dyes, fda, ultraprocessed foods, school lunches, california food safety act, robert f kennedy jr, make america healthy again, state legislation - Source: Mother Jones — https://motherjones.com/food/2026/09/jesse-gabriel-california-assembly-food-dyes-big-food-ultraprocessed-gras-kennedy-maha - Author: Jane Black - Published: 2026-09-21T07:00:00+00:00 - Read time: 4 min - Topics: jesse gabriel, california assembly, food safety, food additives, food dyes, fda, ultraprocessed foods, school lunches, california food safety act, robert f kennedy jr, make america healthy again, state legislation ## A skeptical lawmaker gets educated Jesse Gabriel, a California Democrat, initially dismissed a food safety bill as "woo-woo." But after reading a memo from the Environmental Working Group about banned chemicals still legal in US food, he became determined to act. > I always assumed there was someone in Washington, DC, watching my back. When I learned that that wasn't the case, it actually made me angry. ## Red dye number 3 and other surprises Gabriel learned that Red No. 3, banned in cosmetics for 30 years due to cancer links, is still legal in food. Potassium bromate, banned across the EU and China, appears in US breads and pastries. ## The GRAS loophole explained US food companies can declare their own ingredients "generally recognized as safe" and add them to food without FDA review. This loophole allows nearly 99 percent of new chemicals to bypass regulatory oversight. ## The Skittles ban becomes law Gabriel introduced the California Food Safety Act in 2023, proposing to ban five chemical additives including titanium dioxide, found in Skittles. Industry pushed back hard, but the bill passed in October 2023. ## How Gabriel won over Republicans Gabriel knocked on every legislator's door, explaining the FDA's failures and reframing food choice as an illusion when grocery shelves are filled with untested ingredients. His reputation as a moderate made colleagues take him seriously. > I don't color outside the lines a lot. So I think people thought, if he's worked up about this issue, there must be something going on. ## The first bill passes with compromise The California Food Safety Act passed with one-third of Republicans supporting it. Gabriel compromised by removing titanium dioxide from the ban to secure bipartisan support, though it was found in over 10,000 products. ## School lunches become the battleground In 2024, Gabriel introduced the California School Food Safety Act, banning six synthetic dyes from school meals. Industry groups opposed it fiercely because California schools spend over 4.5 billion dollars annually on food. ## Dyes linked to ADHD in children Gabriel shared a 2021 study linking synthetic food dyes to neurobehavioral problems including ADHD, whose diagnosis has increased nearly 70 percent in children over 20 years. He also framed the ban as helping California farmers. ## School food bill passes unanimously The California School Food Safety Act passed with zero votes against it. Starting at the end of 2027, public schools cannot serve meals with six synthetic dyes, effectively forcing nationwide product reformulation. ## RFK Jr. brings food safety into the spotlight As a presidential candidate and HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. highlighted dangers in American food, calling ultraprocessed foods "poison." Suddenly, Republicans had political cover to support food regulation. ## Gabriel stays independent from MAHA Gabriel has carefully avoided aligning with Kennedy's movement, instead framing regulations as common sense, science-based, and bipartisan. He argues that right policy and right messaging are the same thing. ## Ultraprocessed foods get a legal definition Gabriel's 2025 Real Food, Healthy Kids Act established the nation's first legal definition of ultraprocessed foods and bans some from school meals. The bill passed the state Senate unanimously and the Assembly 79 to 1. ## Republicans co-author the ultraprocessed bill Conservative Assembly members Heath Flora and James Gallagher signed on as co-authors of Gabriel's ultraprocessed foods bill. Flora said industry lobbyists were surprised they were working with Gabriel, but he gave them a seat at the table. > But we did it because he gave us a seat at the table. ## Americans want food safety, not getting it Eighty-four percent of Americans say government should keep food safe from harmful ingredients. Less than half believe it's doing a good job. Kennedy promised to reduce industry influence but appears to have fallen prey to corporate capture. ## FDA's weak GRAS proposal disappoints The FDA's August GRAS proposal only requires companies to inform the agency after declaring additives safe themselves. Previously, they weren't required to report at all. This falls far short of meaningful regulation. ## State legislatures fill the federal void Since 2023, state legislatures have introduced over 150 food safety bills. Fifteen states have passed new laws, split equally between red and blue. States are now protecting Americans where the FDA has failed. > When you ask: 'Is this FDA coming to the rescue?' You quickly decide it's the state legislatures who are going to protect us. ## Gabriel's fourth bill becomes law In February, Gabriel introduced a voluntary label to help shoppers identify foods with minimally processed ingredients. The bill sailed through the legislature with little discussion and was signed into law on September 19. ## Federal preemption threatens state progress In 2025, Senator Roger Marshall included state law preemption in his MAHA bill. After public outcry and a near-revolt by MAHA-aligned Republicans, he was forced to strip the provision. ## The FRESH Act as a Trojan horse Rep. Kat Cammack proposed the FRESH Act to override all state food chemical laws with a weaker federal standard. Gabriel called it a Trojan horse for the food industry. Cammack never formally introduced the bill. > This is a Trojan horse for the food chemical industry. ## Food safety as unifying politics Gabriel argues that food safety is one of the few issues that unites Democrats and Republicans. Eighty percent of both parties support government action on food safety, making it unprecedented political common ground. > Eighty percent of Democrats and Republicans in Washington don't agree on what day of the week it is. When it comes to food safety, it's fairly unprecedented, the depth of the support and the depth of the response. ## Key takeaway State legislatures, not federal regulators, are now protecting Americans from dangerous food additives because the FDA has abdicated its responsibility.