For months, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been traveling across the United States, supporting Republican governors who passed new food safety laws. These state-level moves, part of Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) campaign, aim to tighten food regulations and eliminate harmful ingredients faster than federal reforms typically allow.

Now, major players in the food and beverage industry are striking back. Companies like Kraft Heinz, Conagra Brands, PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola have joined forces to form a new coalition, Americans for Ingredient Transparency, to counter the growing wave of state-led regulations.

The Goal: One Rule for the Whole Country

Launched on Tuesday, the coalition is calling for a single nationwide standard on food ingredient labeling and safety. According to their website, they want federal legislation that defines which ingredients are safe and sets uniform labeling requirements.

In a launch video, the group emphasized the confusion created by differing state rules. “This patchwork of state laws creates confusion for consumers and limits our choices,” the narrator said. “A clear, national ingredient and labeling law fixes that.”

State Laws Fuel Growing Tensions

Recent laws in Texas, West Virginia, and Louisiana have intensified the debate. In Texas, food companies must remove more than 40 restricted ingredients, including artificial dyes and bleached flour, by 2027, or add warning labels stating the ingredients are “not recommended for human consumption.” West Virginia banned certain chemicals from school lunches, while Louisiana now requires QR codes on products containing restricted substances.

Coca-Cola’s Chief Financial Officer John Murphy described the challenge bluntly: “You can imagine the intricacies of dealing with a variety of different requirements state by state.”

Food Activists Push Back

Consumer advocates are already criticizing the new coalition. Vani Hari, known as The Food Babe, said grassroots movements at the state level should continue driving change.

Consumer Reports also voiced opposition. Brian Ronholm, the group’s director of food policy, accused the industry coalition of masking its intent. “If there were truth-in-labeling laws for campaigns, this one would be banned for hiding its goal, to erase state laws that protect consumers from harmful ingredients,” he said.

Industry Strategy and Political Support

The coalition, structured as a nonprofit advocacy group, has enlisted conservative policy figures Julie Gunlock and Andy Koenig as senior advisers. They plan to collaborate with the Trump administration on several issues, including front-of-package nutrition labels and QR code use.

The group’s core belief is that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should be the only authority to decide ingredient approvals and labeling standards. They also argue that all regulations should rely on established scientific principles.

Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas is reportedly working on legislation that aligns with the coalition’s goals. “It’s next to impossible when you have one set of rules in Texas, another in Kansas, and another in California,” he said.

Kennedy’s campaign has already pushed many companies to remove synthetic dyes voluntarily. But with states advancing their own rules and the industry fighting for federal control, the nation’s food regulation landscape is turning into a battleground, one that could reshape what ends up on America’s plates.