Requires high-sugar beverages to be labeled with a safety warning stating that the beverage contains 100% or more of the FDA recommended daily intake of added sugar.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
91
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ, SIMON, COLTON, STECK, SEAWRIGHT, ROSEN-
THAL, GLICK, JACKSON, RAGA, REYES, KELLES -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M.
of A. COOK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer
Affairs and Protection
AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to the
labeling of high-sugar beverages with warnings
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "high-sugar beverages safety warning act".
3 § 2. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new
4 section 204-e to read as follows:
5 § 204-e. Labeling of high-sugar beverages. 1. For the purposes of this
6 section:
7 (a) "Beverage container" means any sealed or unsealed container
8 regardless of size or shape including, but not limited to, those made of
9 glass, metal, paper, plastic, or any other material or combination of
10 materials that is used or intended to be used to hold a high-sugar
11 beverage for individual sale to a consumer.
12 (b) "Beverage dispensing machine" means any device that mixes concen-
13 trate with any one or more other ingredients, and dispenses the result-
14 ing mixture into an unsealed container as a ready-to-drink beverage.
15 (c) "Caloric sweetener" means any substance containing calories, suit-
16 able for human consumption, and shall include, but not be limited to,
17 sucrose, fructose, glucose, and other sugars and fruit juice concen-
18 trates. "Caloric" means a substance that adds calories to the diet of
19 the individual who consumes such substance.
20 (d) "Concentrate" means a syrup or powder that is used or intended to
21 be used for mixing, compounding or making a high-sugar beverage.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00892-01-5
A. 91 2
1 (e) "Consumer" means an individual who purchases a high-sugar beverage
2 for a purpose other than resale.
3 (f) "Distribute" means to sell or otherwise provide a product to any
4 person for resale.
5 (g) "Menu or menu board" means the primary writing of a public food
6 service establishment, as defined in subdivision three of section thir-
7 teen hundred ninety-nine-n of the public health law, from which a
8 consumer makes an order selection, which can be in different forms such
9 as booklets, pamphlets, or single sheets of paper, or published on an
10 online site, and can be located inside, outside, or on the website of
11 such public food service establishment or on a related software applica-
12 tion designed for food delivery.
13 (h) "Natural fruit juice" means the original liquid resulting from the
14 pressing of fruit, the liquid resulting from the reconstitution of
15 natural fruit juice concentrate or the liquid resulting from the resto-
16 ration of water to dehydrated natural fruit juice.
17 (i) "Natural vegetable juice" means the original liquid resulting from
18 the pressing of vegetables, the liquid resulting from the reconstitution
19 of natural vegetable juice concentrate or the liquid resulting from the
20 restoration of water to dehydrated natural vegetable juice.
21 (j) "Powder" means a solid mixture with added caloric sweetener used
22 in making, mixing or compounding a high-sugar beverage by mixing such
23 solid mixture with any one or more other ingredients including, but not
24 limited to, water, ice, syrup, simple syrup, fruits, vegetables, fruit
25 juice, or carbonation or other gas.
26 (k) "Principal display panel" means the part of a label that is most
27 likely to be displayed, presented, shown or examined under customary
28 conditions of display for retail sale.
29 (l) "Sealed beverage container" means a beverage container holding a
30 beverage that is dispensed into its container and closed or sealed off
31 the premises where the beverage is purchased.
32 (m) (1) "High-sugar beverage" means any sweetened nonalcoholic bever-
33 age, carbonated or noncarbonated, sold for human consumption that has
34 added caloric sweeteners and which contains one hundred percent or more
35 of the Food and Drug Administration's daily value for added sugars.
36 (2) Such term shall not include:
37 (A) any beverage containing one hundred percent natural fruit juice or
38 natural vegetable juice with no added caloric sweeteners;
39 (B) any liquid product manufactured for any of the following uses and
40 commonly referred to as a "dietary aid":
41 (i) an oral nutritional therapy for persons who cannot absorb or meta-
42 bolize dietary nutrients from food or beverages,
43 (ii) a source of necessary nutrition used as a result of a medical
44 condition, or
45 (iii) an oral electrolyte solution for infants and children formulated
46 to prevent dehydration due to illness;
47 (C) any product for consumption by infants and that is commonly
48 referred to as "infant formula";
49 (D) any beverage whose principal ingredient by weight is milk; or
50 (E) any alcoholic beverage that is subject to regulation by the alco-
51 holic beverage control law.
52 (n) "Syrup" means a liquid mixture with added caloric sweetener used
53 in making, mixing or compounding a high-sugar beverage by mixing such
54 liquid mixture with any one or more other ingredients, including, but
55 not limited to, water, ice, a powder, simple syrup, fruits, vegetables,
56 fruit juice, vegetable juice, or carbonation or other gas.
A. 91 3
1 (o) "Unsealed beverage container" means a beverage container into
2 which a beverage is dispensed or poured at the premises where the bever-
3 age is purchased including, but not limited to, a container for fountain
4 drinks.
5 2. (a) No person shall distribute, sell or offer for sale a high-sugar
6 beverage in a sealed beverage container unless such container bears the
7 following safety warning and otherwise meets all of the requirements of
8 this subdivision:
9 "SAFETY WARNING: This beverage contains 100% or more of the FDA's
10 recommended daily intake of added sugar."
11 (b) The safety warning required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision
12 shall be displayed in a clear and conspicuous manner and readily legible
13 under ordinary conditions on the principal display panel of the sealed
14 beverage container, separate and apart from all other information, and
15 shall be on a contrasting background. The entire safety warning shall
16 appear in bold type.
17 (c) If the safety warning required by paragraph (a) of this subdivi-
18 sion is not printed directly on the beverage container, the safety warn-
19 ing shall be affixed to the beverage container in such a manner that it
20 cannot be removed without thorough application of water or other
21 solvents.
22 (d) No person shall distribute, sell or offer for sale a multipack of
23 high-sugar beverages in sealed beverage containers unless the multipack
24 of beverages bears the safety warning required by paragraph (a) of this
25 subdivision. The safety warning shall be posted in a clear and conspicu-
26 ous manner on the principal display panel and on at least one other side
27 of the multipack, in addition to being posted on each individual sealed
28 beverage container.
29 (e) No person shall distribute, sell or offer for sale a concentrate
30 unless the packaging of the concentrate, which is intended for retail
31 sale, bears the safety warning required by paragraph (a) of this subdi-
32 vision. The safety warning shall be posted in a clear and conspicuous
33 manner on the principal display panel of the packaging of the concen-
34 trate.
35 (f) This subdivision shall not be construed to require the safety
36 warning required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision to be placed imme-
37 diately preceding any common name or primary product descriptor.
38 3. (a) Every person who owns, leases or otherwise controls the prem-
39 ises where a vending machine or beverage dispensing machine is located,
40 or where a high-sugar beverage is sold in an unsealed beverage contain-
41 er, shall place or cause to be placed, a safety warning in each of the
42 following locations:
43 (1) on the exterior of any vending machine that includes a high-sugar
44 beverage for sale;
45 (2) on the exterior of any beverage dispensing machine used by a
46 consumer to dispense a high-sugar beverage through self-service; and
47 (3) at the point-of-purchase, which may include the menu or menu
48 board, where any consumer purchases a high-sugar beverage in an unsealed
49 beverage container, when the unsealed beverage container is filled by an
50 employee of a food establishment rather than the consumer; provided,
51 however, this subparagraph shall not apply unless the premises where a
52 beverage dispensing machine is located, or where the high-sugar beverage
53 is sold in an unsealed beverage container is part of a network of
54 subsidiaries, affiliates or other member stores, under direct or indi-
55 rect common control, with three or more stores located in New York.
A. 91 4
1 (b) The safety warning required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision
2 shall contain the following language:
3 "SAFETY WARNING: The Food and Drug Administration recommends limit-
4 ing added sugars to 50 grams per day based on a 2,000 calorie diet."
5 (c) The safety warning required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision
6 shall be displayed in a clear and conspicuous manner and readily legible
7 under ordinary conditions, separate and apart from all other informa-
8 tion, and shall be on a contrasting background. The entire safety warn-
9 ing shall appear in bold type.
10 4. (a) Whenever it shall appear that there has been a violation of
11 this section, an application may be made by the attorney general in the
12 name of the people of the state of New York to a court or justice having
13 jurisdiction by a special proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon
14 notice to the defendant of not less than five days, to enjoin and
15 restrain the continuance of such violation; and if it shall appear to
16 the satisfaction of the court or justice that the defendant has, in
17 fact, violated this article, an injunction may be issued by such court
18 or justice, enjoining and restraining any further violation, without
19 requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been injured or damaged
20 thereby. In any such proceeding, the court may make allowances to the
21 attorney general as provided in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of
22 section eighty-three hundred three of the civil practice law and rules,
23 and direct restitution. Whenever the court shall determine that a
24 violation of this article has occurred, the court may impose a civil
25 penalty of not less than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred
26 dollars for each such violation. In connection with any such proposed
27 application, the attorney general is authorized to take proof and make a
28 determination of the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance
29 with the civil practice law and rules.
30 (b) The provisions of this section may be enforced concurrently by the
31 director of a municipal consumer affairs office, or by the town attor-
32 ney, city corporation counsel, or other lawful designee of a munici-
33 pality or local government, and all moneys collected under this section
34 shall be retained by such municipality or local government.
35 5. A retailer shall not be subject to the penalties under this section
36 unless: (a) the retailer is the manufacturer of the high-sugar beverage,
37 the packager of a multipack of high-sugar beverages in sealed beverage
38 containers, or the manufacturer of a concentrate and sells the high-su-
39 gar beverage, multipack of high-sugar beverages, or concentrate under a
40 brand it owns; or (b) the retailer's failure to label was knowing and
41 willful.
42 § 3. Severability clause. If any provision of this act or its appli-
43 cation to any person, legal entity, or circumstance is held invalid, the
44 remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
45 persons, legal entities or circumstances shall not be affected.
46 § 4. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
47 law.
