California Governor Gavin Newsom is banning students’ favorite snacks over cancer fears

California schoolchildren will soon be without their favorite lunch snacks as the state moves closer to banning artificial ingredients in hundreds of foods.

The California School Food Safety Act was signed into law last week by Governor Gavin Newson. It bans Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3 in meals, drinks and snacks served in most primary and secondary school canteens in the state.

Officials insist the new law will not ban any food, although it will require food manufacturers to remove artificial colorings from their recipes and replace them with natural alternatives such as carrot or beetroot juice, something many companies already do in European markets .

Companies have until December 31, 2027 to reformulate their products and remove ingredients that have been linked to developmental problems or prevent their food from being sold to schools.

The latest legislation builds on a law Governor Newsom signed last year that bans brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propyl paraben and red food coloring.

It was called the skittle ban before lawmakers changed it to exclude the food coloring in the popular candy.

Under that law, food manufacturers have until January 2027 to remove the ingredients from their products or face fines of up to $10,000.

According to the latest law, manufacturers of products like Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Doritos, Fruit Loops, Gatorade, Kool-Aid. and M&M’s could see their products pulled from cafeterias in the state’s approximately 12,000 public and public schools if changes are not made by the deadline.

Gov. Newsom said, “Today we refuse to accept the status quo and make it possible for everyone, including schoolchildren, to access nutritious, delicious food without harmful and often addictive additives.

‘By giving every child a healthy start, we can help them on their way to a future with less risk of obesity and chronic diseases.’

California is leading the way in efforts to crack down on food manufacturers that use certain synthetic food dyes linked to developmental and behavioral problems in children.

Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3, which the FDA says are safe to include in food, have been linked to ADHD symptoms such as hyperactivity.

A 2015 meta-analysis reviewed studies in which food additives were removed from children’s diets to see how their ADHD symptoms changed, in both blinded (they did not know their diet had changed) and unblinded (they knew food colorings were no longer part of their diet) situations .

From 14 unblinded studies with more than 2,000 participants, more than 47 percent showed improvement in ADHD symptoms.

Six additional studies used placebo-controlled diets or a crossover design, in which children alternated between diets with and without food additives. In these studies, the improvement rate was 33 percent.

Some of these dyes have also been shown in animal studies to increase the risk of developing kidney and bladder tumors, but the evidence is limited. The additives have also been linked to worsening asthma.

The food colorings in the latest legislation have all been linked to hyperactivity in children and worsening symptoms of ADHD, disrupting children’s ability to learn.

State Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel, who authored the bill, said, “California once again leads the nation when it comes to protecting our children from dangerous chemicals that can harm their bodies and hinder their ability to learn.

“This bipartisan bill will allow schools to better protect the health and well-being of students and sends a strong message to manufacturers to stop using these harmful additives.”

But the food industry has railed against California’s strict legislation, arguing that state governments should not take on the regulatory role that falls to the FDA.

The industry has also argued that Governor Newsom’s actions in the federal government’s role will undermine the public’s trust in the FDA and its ability to protect the public from poisons and bad actors.

The International Food Additives Council, a trade body, said: ‘As well as being misleading, this legislation increases costs and complexity, ultimately impacting the populations who need nutrition most, while disrupting national food regulations and causing confusion among the consumer arises.

“This approach promotes unnecessary fear and distrust in the federal system.”

Meanwhile, John Hewitt, senior vice president at Consumer Brands Association, said: said: ‘California politicians’ approach ignores our science and risk-based process and is not the precedent we should be setting when it comes to feeding our families.’