National Trade Groups File Lawsuit Against Portion of SB 25, Citing Need to Protect the First Amendment Rights of Texans

Four national trade associations filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on Friday in what they claim is an effort to protect the First Amendment rights of Texans. The groups are challenging a specific labeling component in Texas’s recently passed SB 25, while arguing the rest of the law should remain intact. 

In the complaint, the plaintiffs argue that labeling requirements of SB 25 compel businesses to make false or misleading statements that violate their First Amendment right to free speech and improperly defer Texas's labeling standards to foreign regulatory bodies.

The plaintiffs bringing the case are the American Beverage Association (ABA), the Consumer Brands Association (CBA), the National Confectioners Association (NCA), and the Food Industry Association (FMI), trade associations representing the beverage, consumer packaged goods, confectionery, and food retail sectors.

The groups say they support the broader aims of SB 25, including nutrition education, and are seeking only to remedy the law’s language on labeling.

In a statement about the lawsuit provided to Texas Politics, the plaintiffs stated: “We have consistently supported nutrition education and believe that those components in SB 25 should remain intact. However, the product labeling provision in the legislation runs afoul of the Constitution. This portion of the bill violates the First Amendment rights of Texans by compelling businesses to tell consumers false and misleading information about the ingredients in their products, and outsources the authority to regulate Texas products to foreign entities. We urge the court to allow for nutrition education, protect the freedom of Texans, and curb the influence of foreign regulatory bodies in the state by quickly reversing this specific portion of SB 25.”

According to the plaintiffs, the contested provision in SB 25 would require foods and beverages containing certain ingredients to display a warning stating, “WARNING: This product contains an ingredient that is not recommended for human consumption by the appropriate authority in Australia, Canada, the European Union, or the United Kingdom,” even when those ingredients in question are permitted for use in those jurisdictions. 

The plaintiffs cite examples of ingredients they say could trigger the warning despite being authorized for use abroad, including lye, which is in masa, a key ingredient in tamales and tortillas; acetylated esters of monoglycerides, which prevent separation of oil and vinegar in dressings; and acetylated esters of diglycerides, which enhance dough softness and stability.

The state had not responded to the group’s lawsuit.