Arizona Healthy Schools Act, or House Bill 2164 (website), prohibits public schools participating in federally funded or assisted meal programs from serving, selling, or allowing a third party to sell ultraprocessed food on the school campus during the regular school day. The new law takes effect at the start of the 2026-2027 school year.
The law defines ultra-processed foods as those with 1, or more, of the following 11 ingredients:
- potassium bromate
- propylparaben
- titanium dioxide
- brominated vegetable oil
- yellow dye 5 or 6
- blue dye 1 or 2
- green dye 3
- red dye 3 or 40
Here is what you need to know:
No Outside Food Containing 11 Banned Ingredients: Visitors or outside companies are not allowed to bring foods with banned ingredients to distribute or sell on campus during the normal school day. You cannot give out food that contains any of the 11 banned ingredients to any of the other students in your child’s class.
What Can I Do, Or Bring? These new rules do not apply to parents packing their child's individual lunch or snacks. You can still pack any lunches, snacks, or treats for your individual child. You cannot give any food, containing any of the 11 banned ingredients, to any other students.