West Virginia Enacts Sweeping Ban on Foods and Beverages, Outlawing 60% of Grocery Store Products and Crippling a Major Economic Sector

West Virginians Left in a “Wait-and-See” Position as Lawmakers Fail to Address Critical Questions

WASHINGTON – Americans for Food and Beverage Choice today released the following statement in response to West Virginia’s enactment of HB 2354, a law banning widely used food ingredients:

“Every West Virginian should be deeply troubled that their elected representatives have enacted a sweeping food and beverage ban that effectively makes 60% of grocery store products illegal. This unprecedented prohibition on food and beverages will disrupt the lives of families and businesses across the state by driving up food prices, emptying grocery store shelves, and crippling the state’s food and beverage sector.

As the full consequences of this law come into focus, West Virginians will be shocked to learn that lawmakers rushed this bill through the process – probably the most consequential vote many of them will ever take, as one state Senator acknowledged – without conducting so much as a basic economic or scientific analysis. Not a single politician in Charleston has provided information around how this sweeping ban will be enforced, what resources will be required, and how much it will cost West Virginians in terms of higher prices, shuttered businesses, and lost jobs.

Equally troubling, this hastily enacted law was predicated on half-truths, misrepresentations, and wild assertions that collapse under scrutiny. Lawmakers recklessly claimed that the food dyes itemized in the legislation are ‘poisons’ banned in other countries. In fact: five of the seven food dyes have been rigorously evaluated and approved as safe for consumption by leading regulatory bodies worldwide, including in the U.S., Canada and the E.U. A sixth dye included in the bill has been rigorously evaluated and approved for use in both the U.S. and Canada, among many other countries, while the seventh dye isn’t even on the market in the U.S. This raises questions about whether West Virginia lawmakers conducted even the most elementary research on these common ingredients before outlawing them.

This misguided law will force higher prices and fewer choices on West Virginians while at the same time diverting valuable economic activity from the state – whether it’s in the form of consumers crossing state lines to buy groceries or in jobs lost to neighboring states. These harmful consequences could have been avoided with more deliberate planning and a good-faith effort to solicit stakeholder input before the law was crafted.

This law is based on fear – not facts. We call on Governor Morrisey and the West Virginia legislature to come back to the table and engage with the hardworking food and beverage manufacturers, grocery store retailers, labor unions, and all those impacted by this shortsighted and dangerous ban to find a solution that works for West Virginians – not against them.”