Food industry trade groups including the American Beverage Association, the Consumer Brands Association and the National Confectioners Association, sued the State of Texas earlier this month claiming that portions of its “Make Texas Healthy Again” Act are unconstitutional because the government is forcing them to spread inaccurate information about the safety of products, and undermines the domestic regulation of food safety. The Complaint alleges the Act, signed into law in the summer of 2025, compels members of these trade groups to provide warning labels about 44 ingredients present in their foods. Those labels state that the ingredients aren't recommended for human consumption by foreign governments, even though they have been safely used in American foods for decades, the groups said.

The bill allegedly "violates the First Amendment rights of Texans by compelling businesses to tell consumers false and misleading information about the ingredients in their products," the industry groups said in a statement. Moreover, the labeling requirements violate the Constitution's commerce clause by making businesses from all over the country change their labels in accordance with Texas' law, according to the complaint. "This overreach disrupts the national market and creates a confusing patchwork of state laws, with burdens that outweigh any local benefits," the groups said.

I will be watching the arc of this case closely. Texas, California, and other states are passing all sorts of laws ostensibly designed to enhance the safety of the food and beverages sold to their citizens. This is one of the few instances where the food and beverage industry has chosen to fight back. The outcome here may foretell the likelihood that future legislation in other states becomes the subject of litigation, compromise, or something else. Stay tuned.