HB 350 Utah House · 2026 General Session

Foods Available at Schools Amendments

HB 350 amends Utah school food regulations by updating the list of prohibited additives in foods sold, donated, offered, or served during school hours. It bans items containing potassium bromate, propylparaben, titanium dioxide, and specific FD&C dyes (like Blue No. 1 and Yellow No. 5), directly affecting public schools. Key exceptions include parents providing these foods to students, teachers offering them with parental permission, and donated foods going to school pantries. The bill also removes a prior exception for small schools (under 5,500 students) and allows these foods to be sold at school events or in vending machines. The changes take effect July 1, 2026, with no new funding required.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status passed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Last action Mar 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Amended 2/17/2026 12:02:648 → Substitute #1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Utah's food additive prohibitions in public schools by adding a new definition for school food pantries, clarifying that donated food containing prohibited additives is allowed, and phasing out an exemption for small schools. The changes aim to improve food safety while accommodating food insecurity needs and eventually applying the rules to all schools regardless of size.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope by adding a definition for 'school food pantry' and modifies the applicability timeline so that the prohibition on prohibited food additives will apply to all charter schools and school districts with 5,500 students or fewer starting in the 2027-2028 school year, rather than being exempted until then.

DEFINITION

Added a new definition for 'school food pantry' to clarify that it is a noncommercial program providing free food to address student food insecurity.

REQUIREMENT

Modified the exceptions to the food additive prohibitions to explicitly allow schools to accept and distribute donated food items containing prohibited additives to students in need.

ELIGIBILITY

Removed the language exempting charter schools and small school districts (5,500 students or fewer) from the food additive prohibitions.

TIMELINE

Added a new provision stating that the food additive prohibitions will apply to charter schools and small school districts starting in the 2027-2028 school year.

TECHNICAL

Corrected formatting and numbering errors in the list of prohibited food additives and made technical changes to the bill text.

Floor votes · House Feb 23, 2026

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ committee report favorable [Senate Health and Human Services Committee]

upper

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Health and Human Services Committee]

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Committee

Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Health and Human Services Committee]

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

House/ passed 3rd reading

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ comm rpt/ amended [House Health and Human Services Committee]

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Health and Human Services Committee]

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Introduced

House Comm - Amendment Recommendation [House Health and Human Services Committee]

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Committee

House/ to standing committee [House Health and Human Services Committee]

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor