State food-additive law

Illinois food-additive rules

Illinois has enacted 4 food-additive regulations - here is exactly what is banned, what is under review, and how it compares with FDA policy.

4
additives regulated
4
banned outright
0
restricted / under review
Illinois: 4 food-additive regulations

Illinois has enacted 4 food-additive regulations: 4 outright bans and 0 restrictions under review. 1 of these bans go further than current FDA policy nationally. It ranks 3rd of 10 U.S. states by regulatory count.

  • 1 state ban go further than FDA policy
  • Ranked 3 of 10 U.S. states by additive regulations

The verdict

Illinois has banned 1 food additive that the FDA still permits nationally, and matches the FDA's own ban on 3 more.

4
total additives acted on
4
outright bans
0
warnings / under review
Brominated Vegetable Oil
first additive banned

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Substances Added to Food inventory, more than 4,000 substances hold active federal regulatory status as of May 2026, the same federal baseline every state comparison on this page measures against. See our methodology for how state and federal actions are compared and cross-referenced.

How Illinois compares

Number of food-additive regulations on the books, across every state that has enacted one.

State food-additive regulations

California8 lawsNew York5 lawsIllinois4 lawsWest Virginia2 lawsArizona1 lawColorado1 lawMinnesota1 lawNew Jersey1 lawTexas1 lawWashington1 law

Illinois ranks 3 of 10 acting states, with 4 food-additive laws against California's leading 8. Only 10 of 50 states have enacted any food-additive regulation at all; the rest are governed solely by federal FDA status.

Banned Ingredients (4)

Ingredient Safety Effective Date Bill
Brominated Vegetable Oil 1 2027-01-01 HB 2415
Potassium Bromate 1 2027-01-01 HB 2415
Red 3 (Erythrosine) 1 2027-01-01 HB 2415
Titanium Dioxide 2 2027-01-01 HB 2415

Other States with Food Safety Laws

Ranked by number of food-additive regulations, same national list Illinois appears in above.

Using Illinois's additive rules

State law can be stricter than the FDA, check both before you assume an additive is fine.

State regulation reflects a policy judgment, not a medical determination. Effective dates and scope vary by bill.

Verify with the FDA →

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.