The basics:
- Senate committee advances bill limiting single-use utensils, condiment packets at food businesses
- Lawmakers also move measure banning certain synthetic dyes, additives in commercial and school foods
- Separate legislation would promote New Jersey craft beverages through grants and retailer marketing
- Bills advance during the lame duck session as lawmakers return to Trenton through January 2026
Several bills related to food and beverage are among the measures lawmakers have advanced during the lame duck legislative session underway in Trenton.
After a long recess beginning last June, both the Senate and Assembly have scheduled a flurry of committee hearings and/or votes through the second week of January 2026.
During its Dec. 8 meeting, the Senate Budgets and Appropriations Committee approved:
- Senate Bill 3970 – Creates a program to encourage, advertise and promote craft alcoholic beverages made in New Jersey and the retailers who promote and sell those goods
- S3195 – Prohibits food service businesses from providing single-use utensils and condiments to customers under certain circumstances, as well as requires the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to establish a public education campaign on benefits on the topic
According to the tally, the committee voted 12-0 on S3970 and voted 8-3 on S3195.
Meanwhile, the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee unanimously signed off on legislation that would prohibit certain additives and artificial dyes in commercial and school foods.
Brewing support
Under S3970, the state would authorize the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to work with the state Division of Travel and Tourism to create the “Jersey Craft Beverage Retailer Promotion and Grant Program.”
According to the bill, the state would establish signage that allows eligible alcoholic beverage license holders to promote their products.
Through the initiative, holders of plenary retail consumption licenses, seasonal retail consumption licenses or plenary retail distribution licenses could become eligible for grants of up to $2,500 annually to use on improvements and service enhancements.
Grants would be disbursed by a fund credited with 50% of the receipts from the per gallon tax imposed on sales of beer, cider, mead and liquors sold by holders of a limited brewery license, restricted brewery license, farm brewery license, cidery and meadery license, or craft distillery license.
The measure’s primary sponsors include state Sens. Nilsa Cruz-Perez, D-5th District, and Kristin Corrado, R-40th District. The Senate Economic Growth Committee cleared the measure before forwarding it to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.
Expanding the toolbox
Corrado said, “New Jersey is home to some of the nation’s best craft beverage makers, and establishing this program gives them the tools they need to showcase their products to the world.”
“By promoting our homegrown breweries, wineries, and distilleries, and the retailers who support them, we’re not only strengthening a thriving industry, we’re boosting tourism and driving economic growth in communities across our state,” she commented.
Cruz-Perez shared, “Craft brewing is part of New Jersey’s heritage, dating back to colonial times. In fact, canned beers were first sold by the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Co. in Newark.”
“Today, our craft brewing industry is booming, and to maintain that growth we need to support the industry. This bill will do just that, helping consumers identify New Jersey craft beverages and promoting our brewers across the state,” said Cruz-Perez, chair of the Senate Economic Growth Committee.
Assembly members Alex Sauickie, R-12th District; William Spearman, D-5th District; and Clinton Calabrese, D-36th District, also brought companion legislation. Following its September 2024 introduction, the bill was referred to the Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee.
It then went to the Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee in June.
Forks in the road
State Sens. Bob Smith, D-17th District, and Raj Mukherji, D-32nd District, sponsor S3195. The measure seeks to curb plastic waste and pollution by prohibiting food service businesses from automatically providing plastic utensils and condiment packets unless a customer specifically asks for them.
The proposal would apply to nearly all establishments – including restaurants, cafés, cafeterias and food trucks. It would pertain regardless of whether meals are served dine-in, take-out, deliver or drive-thru.
The measure would also bar businesses from bundling items and they may only offer the quantity of requested utensils or condiments. Additionally, it would require places with on-site seating for 50 or more guests to have reusable, washable utensils for dine-in customers.
If the legislation passes, it would exempt schools for five years and restaurants in food courts for two years.
Health care facilities and correctional facilities would also be exempt under some circumstances.
Violators of the law would be subject to a:
- Warning upon the first offense
- $1,000 fine for the second offense
- $2,500 penalty for the third and each subsequent offense
Most fine revenue would support the Clean Communities Program Fund for litter cleanup and education, with 30% retained by local environmental enforcement agencies.
Single-use stipulations
The measure would also require the state Department of Environmental Protection to create a 180-day education campaign about the benefits of reducing the amount of single-use utensils and condiments offered.
Smith shared in a statement, “Millions of tons of plastics are disposed of every year in this country—most of which ends up in a landfill at best, and into urban areas or the ocean at worst. This bill would decrease the amount of litter that ends up in our communities, as well as help to fund a program to clean up the trash that has already made its way into the local environment.”
This bill would decrease the amount of litter that ends up in our communities, as well as help to fund a program to clean up the trash that has already made its way into the local environment.
– Sen. Bob Smith, D-17th District
State Assembly members Alixon Collazos-Gill, D-27th District; Margie Donlon, D-11th District; and Shama Haider, D-37th District, introduced the same bill in January 2025. The Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee has not yet acted on it.
While New Jersey prohibits single-use plastic bags and most paper bags, there’s no policy for disposable cutlery, condiments, or other food and beverage accessories.
At the state level, plastic utensil bans have stalled largely because of pushback from the restaurant industry, concerns about costs for small businesses and enforcement complexity.
As a result, some municipalities, such as Hoboken, Red Bank, Garwood and Eatontown, have put measures in place prohibiting food providers from offering single-use cutlery. New York City, California and Washington state have similar bans.
To dye for
In addition to banning brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and Red No. 3 from commercial foods, S3106 would also prohibit the following six synthetic food dyes from foods sold or distributed in K-12 schools:
- Red No. 40
- Yellow No. 5
- Yellow No. 6
- Blue No. 1
- Blue No. 2
- Green No. 3
According to the bill, the prohibition on food dyes in school schools would go into effect Aug. 1, 2028. Provisions regarding commercial food would take effect a year after that.
The New Jersey Department of Health would handle enforcement. Penalties for violating the code would range from $50 to $1,000, the proposal says.
The legislation comes as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prepares to phase out many petroleum-based synthetic dyes nationwide by the end of 2026 as part of a broader push on food additive safety. In addition to several states advancing bans, many companies, including Walmart and The Campbell’s Co., are removing synthetic food colors from foods.
Taking ‘decisive action’
Bill sponsor state Sen. Andrew Zwicker, D-16th District, said, “By prohibiting certain harmful chemicals in commercial foods, we are taking decisive action to protect the health and well-being of New Jersey families. Federal regulators and international health agencies have already flagged these substances for their links to serious adverse health risks, including behavioral issues, hormone irregularities, and even cancer. There’s no reason to allow them here.”
Co-sponsor Mukherji added, “With evidence showing that certain additives may pose extra risks to children, we have an obligation to mitigate exposure where we can. This legislation’s provision limiting additional dyes in foods often served in schools would dramatically reduce the risk of developmental issues or long-term health effects in our children.”
Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, D-15th District, and Shama Haider, D-37th District, introduced the measure into the state Assembly. After being reported out of the Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee in May 2024, the bill has not moved forward.
