USDA gets new mission: grow natural food colors on American farms
H.R. 3358 — Harvest to Hue Act · Filed by Max Miller (R-OH) · Introduced May 13, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to help U.S. farmers grow crops that can be used as natural food colorings. The USDA will coordinate with other agencies and food companies to support research and production of natural color additives derived from agricultural ingredients, aiming to create new market opportunities for farmers while meeting consumer demand for natural food products.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is purely facilitative—directing USDA to coordinate research and production support for a new agricultural commodity (natural color additives). It creates no new restrictions, no liability shields, and no direct subsidies; it is a policy directive to expand a market segment.
What the text implies
- No appropriations are specified; the bill relies on 'existing research capabilities' within USDA, meaning implementation depends on budget reallocation or discretionary spending—actual capacity enhancement may be limited by funding constraints.
- The bill does not define 'natural color additives' or specify which crops qualify, leaving definitional authority to USDA and potentially creating regulatory ambiguity for farmers and food companies.
- Collaboration with 'food industry partners' may create informal influence over research priorities, though no formal mechanism for private-sector direction is stated.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens benefit from expanded agricultural markets that may increase farmer income and rural economic activity, and from research supporting natural food colorings as an alternative to synthetic additives—aligning with consumer preference for natural ingredients. No restrictions on citizen rights, remedies, or protections are imposed.
Who stands to gain
- U.S. agricultural producers (farmers growing color-additive crops)
- Food industry companies (access to domestically sourced natural colorings)
- Agricultural research institutions (expanded research funding/focus)
Named in the bill
Secretary of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. farmers, Food industry, Federal agencies
Where it stands
- May 13, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- May 13, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Agriculture · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,290,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 12 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Max Miller, the sponsor, reported $721,249 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Consumer Brands Association (pka: Grocery Manufacturers Association) — $1,290,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 17, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,879 characters) on Jun 8, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 17, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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