Are Skittles now banned in the state of California? Not quite.
On Saturday California Gov. Gavin Newsom approved Assembly Bill (ab) 418, which has been falsely dubbed the “Skittles Ban.”
This law, the California Food Safety Act, will ban four commonly used food additives, but this will not include the coloring used in Skittles.
Newsom addressed the Skittles concern stating that, “this particular bag of candy comes from the European Union — a place that already bans a number of chemical additives and colorants. This is demonstrable proof that the food industry is capable of maintaining product lines while complying with different public health laws, country-to-country.”
Although Skittles are safe, according to the Environmental Working Group, the additives addressed in this bill are used in roughly 12,000 other food products such as cereals, sodas and candies that are sold across the United States. This includes Entenmann’s Little Bites, Peeps, Candy Corn, Little Debbie’s Cosmic Brownies and more beloved junk food items.
California just became the first state in the nation to ban these additives, prohibiting their manufacturing, sale or distribution in the use of food for human consumption. These additives include brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and Red Dye 3. Although they continue to be used by Food and Beverage companies, these additives have never been approved for consumption by the Food and Drug Administration, and consumer advocates state that it would take 30 to 50 years for them to even be reviewed.
The National Confectioners Association, who would be hit the hardest by this bill, claims that it “replaces a uniform national food safety system with a patchwork of inconsistent state requirements created by legislative fiat that will increase food costs.”
In 1990, the FDA banned the use of Red Dye 3 in cosmetics based on animal research that suggested a link to thyroid cancer. However, the FDA continues to allow it to be used in food, drugs and dietary supplements. Brominated vegetable oil has been found to harm skin membranes and can even cause memory loss with overconsumption. Some studies have suggested propylparaben can affect fertility, and more specifically, decrease sperm count in rats. Potassium Bromate has been shown to cause kidney, thyroid, and gastrointestinal cancer in animals.
The European Union has already banned the use of these chemicals because of this scientific research on their effect on cancer, fertility and developmental problems in children. Additionally, many brands such as Coke, Pepsi, Gatorade and Panera have already stopped using the additives because of concerns about their effect on human health.
This law is a huge step in working towards protecting Californians from toxic chemicals in our food supply. It will also have a tremendous impact on the country as a whole.
California’s large economy will force manufacturers to produce one additive-free version of their products, rather than going through the trouble of creating two products—one for California and one for the rest of the country.
The state of New York is also working on a similar bill that would include the ban of titanium dioxide, which is used to enhance the white color of foods, in addition to these four additives.
The CA law will take effect in 2027, providing companies with enough time to change their formulations before being fined up to $10,000 for their use.