California became the first state in the nation to prohibit four food additives found in popular cereal, soda,

candy and drinks after

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a ban on them Saturday.

Newsom signs bill to make California first state in nation to ban ‘toxic’ food additives
Adapted from Teresa Watanabe, The Los Angeles Times, 7 October, 2023

The California Food Safety Act will ban the manufacture, sale or distribution of brominated vegetable oil, potassium
bromate, propylparaben and red dye No. 3 — potentially affecting 12,000 products that use those substances,
according to the Environmental Working Group.

The legislation was popularly known as the “Skittles ban” because an earlier version also targeted titanium dioxide,
used as a coloring agent in candies including Skittles, Starburst and Sour Patch Kids, according to the
Environmental Working Group. But the measure, Assembly Bill 418, was amended in September to remove
mention of the substance.

Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel (D-Woodland Hills), who authored AB 418, hailed the move as a “huge step in our
effort to protect children and families in California from dangerous and toxic chemicals in our food supply.” He said
the bill won’t ban any foods or products but will require food companies to make “minor modifications” to their
recipes and switch to safer ingredients. The use of the chemicals has already been banned in the European
Union’s 27 nations as well as many other countries due to scientific research linking them to cancer, reproductive
issues, and behavioral and developmental problems in children, Gabriel said.

But the National Confectioners Assn. blasted Newsom’s decision to sign the bill, saying it will undermine consumer
confidence and create confusion around food safety. In a statement, the association said the law “replaces a
uniform national food safety system with a patchwork of inconsistent state requirements created by legislative fiat
that will increase food costs.” “They’re making decisions based on soundbites rather than science,” the statement
said. “We should be relying on the scientific rigor of the FDA in terms of evaluating the safety of food ingredients
and additives.” […]

Propylparaben and potassium bromate are commonly found in baked goods. Red dye No.3 is used by Just Born
Quality Confections to color pink and purple marshmallow Peeps candy, acoording to Consumer Reports. “What
we’re really trying to get them to do is to change their recipes,” Gabriel told The Times in March. “All of these are
nonessential ingredients.”

The law will take effect Jan. 1, 2027, and impose fines of up to $10,000 for violations. “This is a milestone in food
safety, and California is once again leading the nation,” said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working
Group, which co-sponsored the bill along with Consumer Reports. It could affect food across the country, Cook
said, because the size of California’s economy might prompt manufacturers to produce just one version of their
product rather than separate ones for the state and the rest of the nation. A similar bill, which would ban the same
four chemicals plus titanium dioxide, is making its way through committee in the New York Legislature.

The chemicals banned by the new state law haven’t been reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration for 30 to
50 years, if ever, consumer advocates said. But the FDA told The Times in May that it monitors and authorizes the
use of food ingredients to ensure they are safe.“All the substances in California Bill 418 have been evaluated by the
FDA,” the agency said in a statement. “When we identify new data and information that indicates the use of an
ingredient is unsafe, we take steps to protect public health — which can include revoking authorizations or
approvals for certain uses, working with industry on voluntary market phase-out agreements and recalls, issuing
alerts and informing consumers.”

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also endorsed the bill as “common sense” in his daily Pump Club Newsletter.