Relating to prohibiting certain food additives from being included in free or reduced-price meals provided by school districts.

Contracts

• Indemnification: Expect school districts to demand new contract clauses requiring vendors to indemnify the district for any loss of state or federal funding caused by the delivery of non-compliant food.
• Representations & Warranties: All vendor agreements renewing on or after September 1, 2026, must include specific warranties that products are free of the 18 prohibited substances.
• Evergreen Clauses: Review multi-year contracts with auto-renewal dates on or after September 1, 2026; these must be amended to reflect the new standards or face termination for cause.

Hiring/Training

• Procurement & QA: Staff must be trained to identify the 18 prohibited additives and their chemical synonyms on ingredient decks.
• Sales Teams: Account executives must be retrained to know which SKUs are "Texas School Compliant" to prevent selling non-compliant goods that will be rejected upon delivery.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Affidavits of Compliance: Vendors must prepare to sign sworn statements for every SKU sold to schools verifying the absence of prohibited additives.
• System Logic: Distributors (e.g., Sysco, US Foods) must implement logic locks in ordering systems to prevent non-compliant SKUs from being added to a Texas school district order form.

Fees & Costs

• Reformulation Costs: Manufacturers face significant R&D costs to replace artificial dyes with natural alternatives (e.g., beet juice, turmeric) to retain market share.
• Inventory Risk: Distributors face potential inventory write-offs if non-compliant stock cannot be diverted to non-school channels before the 2026-2027 school year.