California ‘Skittles ban’ prompts calls for US to outlaw OTHER cancer-causing food additives that are illegal in Europe

Health experts are calling on the US to catch up with the international community and ban potentially dangerous additives in food.

Last week, California became the first state to take a major legal step to rid foods of cancer-causing additives.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the so-called “Skittles ban” on Saturday, banning four popular additives that have been linked to kidney, thyroid and gastrointestinal cancers, as well as mood disorders.

But there are still more than a dozen other ingredients that are found in foods people eat every day, despite their known health risks and their ban in European countries.

Registered nutritionist Dr. Carolyn Williams told DailyMail.com it’s time to pass laws to protect Americans from harmful food additives.

She said, “It’s kind of embarrassing that a state had to pass (a ban) before the federal government because we have different amounts of knowledge about these ingredients and they vary in terms of their potential health risks.”

None of the ingredients on the banned list are critical or necessary in products, but they are often cheaper, easier and quicker to use in recipes.

They also help to obtain more beautiful and consistent products, but a natural ingredient could also be used instead.

While Dr. While Williams is confident that other states will follow California’s lead, she would still like to see better regulation at the federal level, but acknowledges that likely won’t happen any time soon.

“It takes the FDA several years to make changes.” There’s a lot of bureaucracy and they want to see overwhelming evidence that a particular ingredient has specific negative health effects.

Dr. Williams explained that it is difficult to say conclusively what side effects each ingredient has because different additives can have different effects on different people and their actual health effects cannot be tested on humans over time.

She said: “We can’t give large doses of potassium bromate to a group of people and then see what happens.” We can’t give them a large dose for a year and then see how many get cancer.

“So you really have to use animal studies and population studies on longevity… you have to look at people who have eaten foods for 50 years and look at the cancer rates, but that doesn’t really show cause and effect.”

“In animal studies, we usually know that if there is an association with a potential risk of cancer in animals, then it is assumed that it may be potentially carcinogenic in humans.”

California’s ban also includes the suspected carcinogen potassium bromate. While it is already banned in Europe, China and India, it is found in more than 100 products sold in the United States.

The chemical compound is often used to strengthen dough and comes in the form of white crystals or powder. It is often found in baked goods and bread.

However, it is also suspected of being carcinogenic and has been shown to cause kidney, thyroid and gastrointestinal cancers in animals.

Dr. Williams said: “We can’t say directly that yes, if you have too much of it, it causes cancer, but it appears that it does.”

“And what we know is that when potassium bromate breaks down in the body, it is oxidized and converted into free radicals. And we know that free radicals are linked to cancer, mutations and DNA changes.”

It would be encouraging, continued Dr. Williams continued that the FDA would work more closely with regulators in the European Union.

Regulators in the EU rely on the “precautionary principle,” which considers whether there is a scientific possibility of harm, even if a risk analysis has not proven this, the ingredient should still be avoided. However, the FDA relies on “overwhelming evidence.”

Dr. Williams said, “The FDA approaches the risks associated with food additives very differently than most other countries.”

“We’re working from two opposing spectrums. The European Union and many other countries are saying, ‘Okay, there’s potentially a risk in that, let’s not use it,’ as opposed to (the US saying) ‘Let’s use it.'”

The EU’s precautionary principle is significantly more conservative than the FDA’s regulation, which is reflected in the fact that most of the food additives controversial in the USA are banned in the EU.

The EU avoids ingredients where the benefits have not been proven to outweigh the risks, but the FDA is asking, Dr. Williams: “Is there really a risk?” “So you have to have convincing evidence that there is a risk before (the additive) is withdrawn from the market or banned for use.”

And while the additives in question may be approved by the FDA, research has shown that the levels of these additives in foods are well above the FDA limit, says Dr. Williams a much larger dosage. We do not know it.’

Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat for Woodland Hills who proposed the California bill, said, “Today’s signature from the governor represents a major step in our efforts to protect children and families in California from dangerous and toxic chemicals in our food supply.”

“It is unacceptable that the U.S. is so far behind the rest of the world when it comes to food safety.”

“This bill will not ban any food or product – it simply requires that food companies make minor changes to their recipes and switch to safer alternative ingredients.”

“These are already being used in Europe and many other places around the world.”

The call from authorities for safer food has been loud for years as increasing research has shown that food additives and even their packaging can cause serious health problems.

The results of a 2022 study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said: “Chemical food additives can cause a range of serious problems,” including congenital eye and brain abnormalities.

The American Academy of Pediatrics warned in a 2018 statement on food additives and children’s health, saying there are “emerging concerns about children’s health associated with the use of colors, flavors and chemicals that are intentionally added to foods during processing.” “.

The Environmental Working Group published a guide on the harms of food additives in 2020 because the Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory approach to food additives does not take into account the latest scientific evidence on the health harms caused by additives that are allowed to be manufactured in processed foods , can be legally added in the USA.’