Industry stakeholders are resisting a California bill that could ban foods like Skittles, Sour Patch Kids and Campbell’s soup.
The bill hopes to curb the use of five additives linked to cancer, DNA and organ damage, but a host of industry companies have argued that the additives are “safe.”
The heads of companies including the National Confectioners Association, the California Grocery Association and the American Chemistry Council added that the bill is ahead of schedule because the safety of the additives is already being reviewed through a number of existing measures.
Of the five additives that would be included in the ban, three (brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate and titanium dioxide) are banned in the EU. One, Red 3 dye, is banned for use in cosmetic products in the United States.
Foods that could be affected include other candies such as jelly beans, PEZ candy, Trident sugar free gum, Campbell’s soup, and smaller brands of bread from across the United States.
The letter, written in opposition to the bill, stated: “The five additives have been thoroughly reviewed by the federal and state systems and many international scientific bodies and continue to be considered safe.”
He added that a petition for the removal of the Red 3 dye was filed in November last year and is open for comment until next month.
Additionally, the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the California Department of Public Health in 2022 requiring a warning label on foods containing synthetic dyes. A hearing for the petition is scheduled for April 11, 2023.
A separate letter, written solely by the National Confectioners Association, noted that the confectionery industry supports more than 100,000 good-paying jobs in California.
It said: ‘As manufacturers of chocolate, candy, gum and mints, the confectionery industry…we create good-paying manufacturing jobs and support thousands of additional American jobs throughout the economy.
“In California, the confectionery industry accounts for an economic output of $7.7 billion, pays $1.8 billion in wages, and supports 106,351 total jobs in the state.”
The letter concluded by saying that “there is no evidence to support the ban on the ingredients listed in the bill.”
Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, who represents part of Los Angeles, introduced AB418 last month in an effort to curb the use of five common food additives linked to cancer, DNA and organ damage.
If the bill becomes law, the foods that include them will have to change their formula or they will not be allowed to be sold in the most populous state in the United States.
Foods that could be affected include other candies such as jelly beans, PEZ candy, Trident sugar free gum, Campbell’s soup, and smaller brands of bread from across the United States.
“Californians shouldn’t have to worry that the food they buy at their neighborhood grocery store might be full of dangerous additives or toxic chemicals,” Asm Gabriel said in a statement.
‘This bill will correct a troubling lack of federal oversight and help protect our children, public health and the safety of our food supply.’
The bill, which he co-introduced with Democratic co-sponsor Asm Buffy Wicks, targets five additives in particular, which also includes propylparaben.
Asm Gabriel told DailyMail.com that “the aim of the bill is to protect children and their parents from harmful chemicals.”
If signed into law, the bill would also prevent the manufacture of food products containing these chemicals in the state, even if they are sold elsewhere.
Asm Jesse Gabriel (pictured) introduced the bill last month. He hopes to ‘protect’ families in California by banning these potentially harmful substances
While the state assembly only cares about California issues, asm Gabriel sees the new regulations as having a national impact.
‘The idea here is to [companies] change their recipes,’ he explained, saying he doesn’t expect many companies to abandon the large California market.
But, if they change their products for California, it is likely that they will make the change nationally.
“It’s unlikely that they have one prescription in California and one in Oklahoma.”
He said the five chemicals were specifically identified because each one is already banned in food products in the EU.
Titanium dioxide is the most notable of the group.
The additive was at the center of a 2022 lawsuit filed in the Golden State last year alleging that the popular Skittles candies were edible.
The natural powder is used to prevent products from caking and is often used as a colorant.
It has been approved as an additive by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), although activists want the agency to review the 1966 decision.
Calls for the additive to be banned come as more research shows the potential dangers of the food.