California lawmakers are closer than ever to banning common food additives found in snacks and chewy candies that have been linked to cancer and memory loss.
The nation’s first bill passed the State House overwhelmingly this week, removing one of three main hurdles before it becomes law.
The law would ban the use of five chemicals, colorings and additives in packaged foods that have been linked to different types of cancers, fertility problems and neurological problems.
Bill must pass through the state Senate before touching Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk, which is expected to happen in the coming weeks, although the exact timing is unclear.
If passed, the bill will force companies that use risky additives to either change ingredients by the January 2025 deadline or have their products banned from the market.
Popular candies like peppermints, pumpkins, candy corn, Pez, Dubble Bubble and Hot Tamales all contain Red 3, a dye linked to cancer and banned for use in cosmetics.
The bill targets the sale of foods containing hazardous chemicals, including red dye No. 3, titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil or propylparaben.
The bill’s main sponsor has defended itself against accusations that it would amount to a ban on Skittles and other popular candies, saying manufacturers would have more than a year to make the necessary changes.
The bill has received praise from watchdog groups but fierce opposition from the trillion-dollar packaged food industry, which says the first-of-its-kind ban circumvents the authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat, said: “There is no realistic chance that this bill will cause Skittles or any other product to be taken off the shelf.” The idea here is for these companies to make minor changes to their recipes so that these products no longer contain dangerous and toxic chemicals.
Assembly Bill 418 proposes to ban additives that are ubiquitous in chewy candies such as Sour Patch Kids and Skittles, baked goods and some sodas.
It would be the first bill of its kind to pass in the United States and mark a major victory for nutrition watchdog and consumer groups. Given the immense size of California’s economy, passage of the bill could trigger a seismic shift in food production and sales nationwide.
Four of the five additives included in the proposal have already been banned in food products in the EU.
Assemblyman Gabriel said: “California people shouldn’t have to worry that the food they buy at their neighborhood grocery store is full of dangerous additives or toxic chemicals.
“This bill will correct a disturbing lack of federal oversight and help protect our children, public health and the safety of our food supply.”
But the food industry is fighting what it sees as a backdoor way to ban safe chemicals.
Food additives consultant Gina Myers told the California Globe, “There are good ways to push for a ban and bad ways to push for a ban, and this bill is a very bad way to do it.
“They should be thoroughly reviewed by the FDA and worked on it. Instead they go through the state level and hope to get a ban there before we get all the facts and give the companies enough time to come up with alternatives… It’s a really impatient way , callous and reckless with a disregard for consequences where better ways to do so are readily available.
Red dye no. 3 gives products a distinct bright red hue. It is used in some 3,000 food products such as frostings, maraschino cherries and berry flavored candies.
Asm Jesse Gabriel (pictured) filed the bill last month. He hopes to ‘protect’ California families by banning these potentially harmful substances
But studies dating back to the early 1980s have shown that the additive, in very high doses, can cause cancer in laboratory animals and has been linked to behavioral problems in children.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a Washington DC-based consumer advocacy group, petitioned the FDA to ban the chemical last year. He was joined by more than a dozen advocacy groups, including Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, the Children’s Advocacy Institute and the Consumer Federation of America.
It was banned in cosmetics in 1990 for these reasons but is still present in many foods and sweets, including pastries and breakfast cereals.
A 2012 study by Brazilian researchers found that Red 3 can cause genotoxicity – when DNA suffers toxic damage – and also causes permanent transmissible changes to strains.
Researchers have not determined the mechanism of how it damages a person’s DNA.
In 2020, the California Environmental Protection Agency found that children who regularly consumed Red 3 were more likely to suffer from hyperactivity and inattention.
The other four additives included in the proposed ban have been excluded from consumer products in Europe due to overwhelming health concerns.
US regulators allow some risky additives that the EU does not allow. Companies can infuse their products with additives with relative impunity thanks to an FDA loophole that allows them to determine for themselves that an ingredient used is generally safe
According to the Environmental Working Group, titanium dioxide, also known as E171, is found in crowd favorites Skittles, Starbursts and other candies.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified it as a Group 2B carcinogen which could potentially pose a threat to humans if inhaled.
The designation was based on limited evidence showing that high concentrations of powdered and ultrafine titanium dioxide dust caused respiratory tract cancer in rats exposed by inhalation.
Yet most of the research concludes that the amount consumed from food is so low that it poses no threat to human health, and the FDA maintains that levels of the substance in US foods are safe.
Potassium bromate is commonly found in bread as an oxidizing agent added to dough to make it firmer, more solid and to aid in rising.
It has been shown to cause nose, throat, and lung irritation, as well as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
Potassium bromate has been banned for human consumption in Europe, China and India because it is suspected of being a carcinogen. In laboratory tests, the compound KBrO3 caused the formation of kidney and thyroid tumors in rats.
Brominated vegetable oil, a type of bromine-containing vegetable, often appears in diet and citrus sodas such as Sun Drop to prevent ingredients in fruit-flavored soft drinks from separating.
Although not listed as a carcinogen, inhaling bromine can irritate the nose, throat, and lungs, as well as the mucous membranes lining the inside of the mouth, throat, stomach, and lungs .
Long-term exposure to the chemical can cause neurological problems such as memory loss, impaired balance and coordination, and headaches.
For these reasons, it has been banned in Japan, India and the European Union.
A study published by the FDA in May 2022 reported that rodents consuming amounts of BVO comparable to what humans consume had significantly higher tissue bromine levels, which posed a danger to thyroid health.
Propylparaben is most commonly used as a preservative in packaged baked goods, and although deemed generally safe by the FDA, it was banned in 2006 from being added to foods by the European Food Safety Authority.
It has not been shown to cause cancer, but it may disrupt fertility and the endocrine system, which governs the body’s hormones that control many important functions, including growth and development, metabolism and reproduction. .
A 2002 study in Japan found that FDA-approved concentrations of the substance reduced sperm count in young rats.
While the California bill passed the state assembly overwhelmingly, it still has to pass the Senate.