Sweet-tasting antifreeze may not be tempting to pets and kids much longer as legislation to add a bittering agent to the formula is continuing its advance through Michigan government.

According to Michigan Radio, the Senate passed Senate Bill 0029 - now referred to as the "engine cooling bittering agent act" - nearly unanimously with a bipartisan vote of 36-1. The bill will now move on to the House for consideration.

SB0029 gives manufacturers a deadline of January 1, 2015, to add bittering agent denatonium benzoate to their engine coolant products. It would then be illegal to sell any non-bitter engine coolant products in Michigan.

In addition, the bill requires manufacturers or packagers to keep publicly available records for at least three years that include the product's trade name, scientific name, concentration of ethylene glycol, and concentration of denatonium benzoate.

Senator Steve Bieda, who is sponsoring the bill, said he thinks the legislation will help to prevent the pain that people experience when their children or pets are poisoned by engine coolant.

“Every year hundreds of children and thousands of animals are harmed by ingesting antifreeze mistakenly,” said Bieda on his website. “It's a common item that many of us have in our garages at home. We can prevent serious injury to children and family pets by taking the simple step of making antifreeze bitter so that it loses its appeal.”