Gov. Katie Hobbs signs bill to get harmful junk food out of schools

PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs on Monday signed a bill to get harmful junk food out of Arizona schools.

The law, which came to her desk as House Bill 2164, aims to remove foods and drinks with specific ingredients from cafeterias across the state.

Her signing of the junk food bill came one week after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promoted the legislation last week while in Phoenix.

How will junk food bill impact Arizona education?

The bill makes it so that Arizona schools cannot sell foods with one or more of these ingredients during regular school days:

• Potassium bromate.
• Propylparaben.
• Titanium dioxide.
• Brominated vegetable oil.
• Yellow dyes 5 and 6.
• Blue dyes 1 and 2.
• Red dyes 3 and 40.
• Green dye 3.

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has supported this bill, saying banning foods with synthetic dyes could help students with behavioral issues perform better in school.

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