Texas SB 25: Preparing Food Packaging for New Warning Label Requirements with Smart In-Line Printing using CoLOS® Packaging Intelligence
Texas SB 25 (Senate Bill 25), signed on June 22, 2025, introduces sweeping new food labeling requirements for products containing any of 44 specified additives. With enforcement ramping up by January 1, 2027, food manufacturers must act now—or risk penalties of up to $50,000 per day per product.
The food label must include the following warning:
“WARNING: This product contains an ingredient that is not recommended for human consumption by the appropriate authority in Australia, Canada, the European Union, or the United Kingdom.”
Who Must Comply and Who’s Exempt
SB 25 applies to any food sold in Texas that contains listed additives, regardless of its origin. Exemptions include restaurant-prepared food, USDA-regulated items, drugs, dietary supplements, and non-food items—sharpening the compliance focus on the packaged food sector.
Important Deadlines
Sept 1, 2025: SB 25 takes effect.
By Dec 31, 2025: Texas must release implementing rules.
From Jan 1, 2027: Newly developed or updated labels must display the required warning.
Why In-Line Printing using CoLOS® Software is a Game-Changer
To address compliance needs, there can be 2 ways: One is to redesign the label with an appropriate warning. However, based on the number of products affected, the costs could be very high alongside the time required to get the design completed for production. The second option is that the manufacturers can now deploy dynamic, configurable in-line printing powered by CoLOS® Message Management & Control and CoLOS® IT-OT Integration.
This offers:
Agility: Respond to regulation changes and updates instantly based on ingredients or packaging changes.
Regional customization: Adapt labels for different markets like Texas versus other states without changing packaging design templates.
Flexibility: support product variants and regulatory changes without new artwork, and thus reduces waste and stocked up pre-printed inventory.
Message Control: centrally manage warnings with precision and reduce human error.
CoLOS® IT-OT Integration helps in:
Seamless Data Flow & Automation
The right data is pulled automatically from the ERP/Database and compared with the ingredient list. An appropriate warning message is dynamically sent to the printer at the start of production.
Compliance and Regulatory Audits
IT-OT Integration helps to trace back each print to an ERP record or a batch and makes the system audit-ready by following due diligence.
Reduce Downtime and Errors
Dynamic printing allows conditional switching with respect to message (if one of the 40 ingredients present) and region (Texas). This eliminates the manual reconfiguration when the SKU changes, thus reducing mislabeling, errors, and stoppages.
Taking the Next Step
Manufacturers should:
1. Audit ingredients and packaging.
2. Choose between pre-printed artwork or in-line options.
3. Invest in reliable in-line printing systems with solutions like CoLOS® Packaging Intelligence Suite.
4. Pilot solutions now to ensure readiness by 2027.
5. Stay alert for federal changes that could disrupt state mandates.
SB 25 adds regulatory pressure—but with CoLOS® Message Management and Control & CoLOS® IT-OT integration driven in-line printing solution, manufacturers gain compliance agility and future-proofing. Efficient, software-managed in-line printing is no longer optional—it’s vital for seamless adaptation to Texas’s new labeling reality.
