https://usrtk.org/ultra-processed-foods/big-food-campaign-to-block-state-food-safety-laws/

… A wave of food safety bills across the U.S. – pushed by the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) coalition and others – has the ultra-processed food industry playing defense. Lawmakers in dozens of states have introduced at least 89 proposals this year seeking to restrict or ban synthetic dyes, chemical additives or ultra-processed foods. Their drive is based on strong scientific evidence tying ultra-processed foods to serious health concerns, especially cancer, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, dementia, depression, cardiovascular disease, and early death – and evidence showing that many ultra-processed foods are designed to be addictive.

…Claiming ‘transparency’ to perpetuate business as usual

In this new political moment of invigorated consumer and public health movements, the food industry is dusting off strategies long associated with Big Tobacco – erecting front groups, casting doubt on evidence their products cause harm, and attempting to reframe the debate. Under banners like “Americans for Ingredient Transparency” and the “Good to Know Transparency Initiative,” big food and beverage brands are striving to position themselves as champions for our right to know.

But the real purpose of these campaigns is clear: to protect profits and evade stronger public health protections. Funded by General Mills, Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and dozens of other food and beverage corporations and trade groups, the newly launched Americans for Ingredient Transparency (AFIT) is pushing for a federal law that would override tough new state-level food safety laws in favor of a weaker federal standard.

… A look into the background of AFIT’s senior advisor and public spokesperson, Julie Gunlock, reveals the group’s real agenda. Gunlock has built a career on dismissing concerns about harmful food ingredients as “alarmism.” She publicly defends vaping, sugary junk food, hormone-disrupting chemicals in plastics, GMOs, and pesticides. She is director of the Independent Women’s Forum, a group that received money from tobacco firms and promoted e-cigarettes as beneficial to women.

Calling herself a “MAHA mom,” Gunlock argued in the Daily Caller that consumers should simply trust the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to keep their food safe. In other words, she’s promoting blind faith in a regulatory system long shaped by the very corporations trying to escape tougher rules…