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SB57 • 2026

PUBLIC HEALTH: Provides relative to nutrition. (1/1/28)

PUBLIC HEALTH: Provides relative to nutrition. (1/1/28)

Education
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Patrick McMath
Last action
2026-06-01
Official status
Signed by the Governor - Act 735
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation includes claims about schools providing nutrition education which are not supported by the official source material. The bill text does mention repealing certain laws related to school nutrition education but does not specify how or if schools will continue to provide such education after these laws are repealed.

Nutrition Rules for Food Labels

This act changes Louisiana's laws about food labels to require more information on ingredients that the FDA says must be listed, while removing some existing rules.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes a part of Louisiana law (R.S. 40:661(C)(1)) to say it only applies if the FDA requires an ingredient to be named on food labels and the ingredient is used in human food or drinks.
  • Amends another section of Louisiana law (Section 5(D) of Act No. 463) to set a new effective date for certain parts of the act, making them active from December 31, 2028.
  • Repeals some existing laws about food labels and nutrition education in schools.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Food manufacturers who must follow new labeling rules.

Terms To Know

FDA
The United States Food and Drug Administration, which sets standards for food safety and labeling.
Repeal
To cancel or remove a law from the books.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Some parts of the act will not take effect until December 31, 2028.
  • The exact details of how schools must provide nutrition education are removed by this act.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Filed

Plain English: The amendment changes which foods need ingredient labeling and removes acesulfame potassium from the list of ingredients that must be disclosed.

  • Removes acesulfame potassium from both the ingredient disclosure list and the prohibited ingredients served in schools.
  • Changes the applicability of food or beverage labeling requirements to include items containing any ingredient required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be named on a label.
  • Moves the effective date for new labeling provisions from January 1, 2028, to December 31, 2028.
  • The amendment text does not provide specific details about how the changes will affect food manufacturers or schools beyond removing acesulfame potassium and changing the effective date for labeling requirements.
Adopted

Plain English: The amendment modifies and reenacts a section of Louisiana's public health laws related to food labeling, specifically concerning ingredients that must be named on food labels.

  • Adds language specifying when provisions about food containing artificial colors, additives, or banned chemicals apply: only if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires the ingredient to be listed on a food label.
  • Repeals certain sections of existing Louisiana law related to school nutrition programs.
  • The amendment text does not provide full context about what specific changes are being made beyond referencing other laws, which makes it hard to fully explain the exact impact without additional information.
Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the dates when certain sections of the bill about nutrition will take effect.

  • Removes references to 'R.S.40:661(C)(2) as enacted by Section 3' and replaces them with 'Section 5(D)' in multiple places.
  • Deletes specific wording related to labeling requirements from the original bill text.
  • Adds new language that sets different effective dates for parts of the bill, making Part I-B and R.S. 40:661 active on December 31, 2028, and R.S. 40:662 active on January 1, 2028.
  • The amendment text does not provide full context for all changes, making it hard to understand the exact impact of some edits without additional information.
Draft

Plain English: The amendment changes the dates when certain sections of the bill about nutrition will take effect.

  • Removes references to 'R.S.40:661(C)(2) as enacted by Section 3' and replaces them with 'Section 5(D)' in multiple places.
  • Deletes specific phrases like 'nutrition;' and 'labeling requirements; to provide for exemptions;' from the bill text.
  • Adds new language that sets different effective dates for parts of R.S. 40:661 and R.S. 40:662.
  • The amendment's technical nature makes it hard to fully explain without additional context about the original bill sections being amended.
  • Some changes may be difficult to understand without knowing the full content of the original bill and its amendments.

Bill History

  1. 2026-06-01 S

    Effective date 1/1/2028.

  2. 2026-06-01 S

    Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 735.

  3. 2026-05-29 S

    Sent to the Governor by the Secretary of the Senate.

  4. 2026-05-29 H

    Signed by the Speaker of the House.

  5. 2026-05-28 S

    Enrolled. Signed by the President of the Senate.

  6. 2026-05-27 S

    Amendments proposed by the House read and concurred in by a vote of 37 yeas and 0 nays.

  7. 2026-05-26 S

    Received from the House with amendments.

  8. 2026-05-26 H

    Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 98, nays 0. Finally passed, ordered to the Senate.

  9. 2026-05-25 H

    Scheduled for floor debate on 05/26/2026.

  10. 2026-05-25 H

    Read by title, passed to 3rd reading.

  11. 2026-05-20 H

    Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments.

  12. 2026-05-19 H

    Reported favorably (10-0). Referred to the Legislative Bureau.

  13. 2026-05-12 H

    Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.

  14. 2026-05-11 H

    Received in the House from the Senate, read by title, lies over under the rules.

  15. 2026-05-11 S

    Read by title, passed by a vote of 36 yeas and 0 nays, and sent to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

  16. 2026-05-07 S

    Read by title. Committee amendments read and adopted. Ordered engrossed and passed to third reading and final passage.

  17. 2026-05-06 S

    Reported with amendments.

  18. 2026-03-09 S

    Introduced in the Senate; read by title. Rules suspended. Read second time and referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.

  19. 2026-02-18 S

    Prefiled and under the rules provisionally referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.

Official Summary Text

PUBLIC HEALTH: Provides relative to nutrition. (1/1/28)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
2026 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE BILL NO. 57
BY SENATOR MCMATH
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 40:661(C)(1) as enacted by Section 3 of Act No. 463 of the 2025
3 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana and Section 5(D) of Act No. 463 of
4 the 2025 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana and to repeal R.S.
5 40:661(A)(1) as enacted by Section 3 of Act No. 463 of the 2025 Regular Session
6 of the Legislature of Louisiana and R.S. 17:197.2(B)(13) as enacted by Section 1 of
7 Act No. 463 of the 2025 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana, relative to
8 nutrition; to provide for an effective date; and to provide for related matters.
9 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. R.S. 40:661(C)(1) as enacted by Section 3 of Act No. 463 of the 2025
11 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana is hereby amended and reenacted to read as
12 follows:
13 §661. Food containing artificial colors, additives, or banned chemicals; ingredient
14 information
15 * * *
16 C.(1) The provisions of this Section shall only apply to if the United States
17 Food and Drug Administration requires the ingredient to be named on a food
18 label and the ingredient is used in food or beverages intended for human
19 consumption.
20 * * *
21 Section 2. Section 5(D) of Act No. 463 of the 2025 Regular Session of the
22 Legislature of Louisiana is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
23 Section 5.
24 * * *
25 (D) The heading of Part I-B and R.S. 40:661 as enacted by Section 3 of
26 this Act shall become effective on December 31, 2028. R.S. 40:662 as enacted by
ACT No. 735
Page 1 of 2
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.
SB NO. 57 ENROLLED
1 Section 3 of this Act shall become effective on January 1, 2028.
2 Section 3. R.S. 40:661(A)(1) as enacted by Section 3 of Act No. 463 of the 2025
3 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana and R.S. 17:197.2(B)(13) as enacted by
4 Section 1 of Act No. 463 of the 2025 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana are
5 hereby repealed.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
Page 2 of 2
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.