The “Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Safety Warning Act” is now in the hands of the California State Assembly.
Last week, the state Senate passed the bill, which would require that any sweetened non-alcoholic beverage (carbonated or non-carbonated) that contains 75 calories or more per 12 fluid ounces be labeled with the words, “Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay.”
The label would not apply to 100-percent fruit or vegetable juices, dietary aids, infant formulas, or “any beverage whose principal ingredient by weight is milk.” The bill was introduced in February by state Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) and was co-sponsored by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA), the California Medical Association, the California Black Health Network and the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. “We got the bill through the Senate… We’re thrilled as can be,” CCPHA Executive Director Harold Goldstein told attendees Wednesday at the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s Soda Summit in Washington, D.C. “It provides an authoritative statement at the same time as it educates consumers,” he said, adding that “the campaign itself gets the message out.” Goldstein said the idea for the warning label came after several attempts to pass bills to tax soda at the state and local level.
