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California lawmakers are considering a measure that would change the ingredients in many popular candies by banning certain “toxic” chemicals.
Skittles, PEZ and other popular junk foods commonly found at your local grocery store would need new recipes if AB 418 becomes law. The bill, introduced by Democratic MP Jesse Gabriel, would ban the sale, manufacture and distribution of foods containing chemicals that have been linked to health risks such as cancer, childhood behavior problems, harm to reproductive health and damage to the immune system.
The legislation would specifically ban foods containing red dye #3, titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, or propylparaben.
“Californians shouldn’t have to worry that the groceries they buy at their neighborhood grocery store might be full of hazardous additives or toxic chemicals,” Gabriel said in a press release. “This law will correct a worrying lack of government oversight and help protect our children, public health and the safety of our food supply.”
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A package of Skittles, a fruit-flavored candy manufactured by the Wrigley Company, a division of Mars, Inc. (Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images/Getty Images)
These chemicals, ubiquitous in American candy, have already been banned in the European Union. Red Dye No. 3, a food coloring found in PEZ, hot tamales, and sweethearts, has been linked to cancer. So does titanium dioxide, an ingredient in Skittles, Nerds, and Trolli gummies.
But Gabriel insists his bill won’t ban the sale of Skittles in California.
“I love Skittles. I love Wild Berry Skittles. I eat them all the time,” Gabriel told the Los Angeles Times. “I would vote against a bill banning Skittles.”
“What we’re really trying to get them to do is change their recipes,” he told the paper. “All of these are non-essential ingredients.”
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The Wrigley Company, a division of Mars, Inc., uses titanium dioxide to create Skittles’ rainbow of artificial colors. (Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images/Getty Images)
According to Gabriel’s office, the food additives targeted by AB 418 are a handful of thousands of chemicals that are added to foods to make them last longer, taste better and look more attractive to the eye. Most of these chemicals have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and some are “generally recognized as safe” — although there has been little oversight.
AB 418 is supported by the Environmental Working Group, which works to eliminate allegedly toxic chemicals from the food supply.
“Why are these toxic chemicals in our food?” Susan Little, Senior Advocate for Governmental Affairs for the Environmental Working Group for California, said in a statement. “We know they are harmful and that children are likely to eat more of these chemicals than adults. It makes no sense that the same products that food manufacturers are selling in California are being sold in the EU but without those toxic chemicals.”
However, the bill faces opposition from the American Chemistry Council, a trade group that represents companies involved in the chemical industry. The group says existing rules are sufficient to ensure food containing titanium dioxide is safe and that AB 418 is “an overly broad and unnecessary burden on consumers, manufacturers and regulators”.
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Pez candies contain red dye #3, which has been linked to cancer. (George Rose/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“AB 418 unnecessarily politicizes food additive safety regulations and undermines thorough processes based on ongoing assessment of adverse event reports, peer-reviewed scientific research and careful risk assessment based on actual or reasonably anticipated food exposures,” wrote the Titanium Dioxide Stewardship Council .
The National Confectioners Association (NCA) also rejects the bill.
“Chocolate and sweets can safely be enjoyed as they have been for centuries. We strongly oppose AB 418 because there is no evidence to support a ban on the ingredients listed in the bill,” the NCA said.
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“The ingredients that would be banned under this proposal have all been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration using the FDA’s most stringent safety standards,” the group added.
The NCA is the leading trade organization for US confectioners, which generate $42 billion in retail sales each year. Among the members of the group is Mars Inc., which manufactures Skittles.
Last year, a group of consumers sued Mars, claiming that Skittles were “unfit for human consumption” because they contain titanium dioxide.
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Mars said it only uses “small amounts” of titanium dioxide in its candy and that it has complied with FDA regulations. The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit in November.