Mountain Dew And Doritos Might Receive A Disturbing Warning Label In This State (And It's Not California)

Shoppers in America's second-largest state may soon see an unsettling warning label on some of their favorite snacks and packaged foods. Texas lawmakers passed a bill with support from both Republicans and Democrats that would require food and drinks like Doritos and Mountain Dew to warn that they contain ingredients "not recommended for human consumption." Governor Greg Abbott has not said if he'll sign the legislation into law.

The measure mandating a warning label on products sold in Texas beginning in 2027 singles out targeted ingredients based on other Western countries either banning them in food products, or requiring a warning label. The more than 40 ingredients that would trigger a warning label include bleached flour, synthetic dyes, and certain sweeteners, oils, and preservatives, among them Olestra, the '90s diet miracle turned national joke.

The full wording of the proposed label in the Make Texas Healthy Again bill says, "WARNING: This product contains an ingredient that is not recommended for human consumption by the appropriate authorities in Australia, Canada, the European Union or the United Kingdom." It would affect not only chips, candy, and soda, but also breakfast cereal, snack cakes, cookies, drinks, and even frozen dinners and processed meat.

The proposed warning label comes in a Republican state that has traditionally been opposed to new regulation. But the Texas bill has the support of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and aligns with his Make America Healthy Again effort. It also comes after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned several synthetic food dyes earlier in 2025.

But food manufacturers have pushed back against the label requirement. Some said in a letter to Texas lawmakers in May that restrictions shouldn't go further than U.S. national standards, and questioned basing it on other countries' rules. The statement also warned that common foods would be affected, making them harder for consumers to get, and raising prices.

If the warning label does become the law in Texas, it could lead to manufacturers rolling it out nationally, which would be more streamlined than adding labels to products sold only in Texas. It could also spur the use of healthier alternatives, which happened when the FDA approved new natural food dyes after the synthetic ban.