State vs. federal regulation
The additives the most U.S. states have moved to ban
Across 25 tracked state actions (enacted laws and proposed bills) in 10 states, these are the food additives lawmakers have targeted most, often years ahead of, or in direct conflict with, the FDA's federal position.
- 8
- additives state-regulated
- 10
- states with their own bills or laws
- 25
- state regulations tracked
- 10
- states act on Red 3
The verdict
Red 3 is the most state-regulated additive in the U.S. - 10 states have acted on it, and the FDA has now banned it too.
- Red 3
- most-regulated additive
- 10 states
- have acted on it
- 4
- still FDA-allowed but state-restricted
- 10
- states writing their own rules
Counts are rendered live from our state-legislation table, no estimates, no projections.
Ranked by number of states
How many distinct U.S. states have banned, restricted or proposed action on each additive. Rows that include proposals or items under review say so under the additive name.
The full ranking
| # | Additive | States | FDA status | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red 3 (Erythrosine) 5 of 10 states enacted a ban | 10 | Banned | 1/5 |
| 2 | Potassium Bromate | 4 | Banned | 1/5 |
| 3 | Brominated Vegetable Oil | 3 | Banned | 1/5 |
| 4 | Titanium Dioxide 2 of 3 states enacted a ban | 3 | Approved | 2/5 |
| 5 | Propylparaben | 2 | Banned | 1/5 |
| 6 | Red 40 (Allura Red) No state ban enacted yet | 1 | Approved | 2/5 |
| 7 | Yellow 5 (Tartrazine) No state ban enacted yet | 1 | Approved | 2/5 |
| 8 | Yellow 6 (Sunset Yellow) No state ban enacted yet | 1 | Approved | 2/5 |
Counts include every tracked state action. A row with a sub-line includes other actions that are not enacted bans (proposed bans, warning requirements or items under review); the state pages list each one with its status.
Source: PlainIngredients state-legislation table, compiled from primary state bills. State codes use standard USPS abbreviations.
How this ranking is built
According to our tracked state-legislation table, we count, per additive, the number of distinct U.S. states with a tracked law or bill banning or restricting it in food. The table reflects 25 regulations across 10 states. Ties are broken alphabetically. Because states act independently, the same additive can be banned outright in one state and merely carry a warning requirement in another, both count as state action here. The list will grow as new state bills are signed.
Caveats
State laws vary in scope: some apply only to school food or specific product categories, and effective dates run from 2026 into 2028. This tracker covers the 10 states with an additive-specific bill or law, enacted or proposed; most states still defer to the FDA. State regulation does not by itself prove an additive is unsafe - it reflects a policy judgment that can differ from the federal one.
What this tells you
A state ban is a flag worth heeding, but read the additive's full record, not just the count.
- Start with Red 3, the most state-regulated additive on the list. See its record
- See how your own state compares on food-additive law. Browse states
- Scan a product label to flag any of these additives at once. Label checker
State regulation reflects policy, not a medical determination. Scores summarise regulatory status and published concerns only.
Every figure on PlainIngredients is rendered directly from FDA, EU, EFSA and U.S. state regulatory records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.