Confectionery companies reject California bill that could BAN Skittles — arguing the cancer-linked additives are ‘safe’

Industry stakeholders are biting back at a California bill that could ban foods including 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 slew of industry businesses have argued the additives are ‘safe’.

Directors from companies including the National Confectioners Association, California Grocers Association and the American Chemistry Council added that the bill jumps the gun because the additives’ safety 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, the dye Red 3, is banned from use in cosmetic products in America.

Foods that could be affected include other treats such as jelly beans, PEZ candy, Trident sugar-free gum, Campbell’s soup and smaller bread brands from around America.

The letter, written in opposition to the bill, stated: ‘All five of these additives have been thoroughly reviewed by the federal and state systems and many international scientific bodies and continue to be deemed safe.’

It added that a petition for the removal of the dye Red 3 was submitted in November last year and is open for comment until next month.

Furthermore, non-profit consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned California’s Department of Public Health in 2022 demanding a warning label on foods containing synthetic dyes. A hearing for the petition is planned for April 11, 2023.

A separate letter, penned solely by the National Confectioners Association, highlighted that the confectionery industry supports more than 100,000 good-paying jobs in California.

It said: ‘As the makers of chocolate, candy, gum and mints, the confectionery industry… we create good-paying jobs in the manufacturing sector and support thousands of additional American jobs throughout the economy. 

‘In California, the confectionary industry represents a $7.7 billion economic output, pays $1.8 billion in wages, and supports 106,351 total jobs in the state.’

The letter concluded saying ‘there is no evidence to support banning the listed ingredients in the bill’.

Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, who represents part of Los Angeles, filed 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, foods that include them will either have to change their formula or not be allowed for sale in America’s most populous state.

Foods that could be affected include other treats such as jelly beans, PEZ candy, Trident sugar-free gum, Campbell’s soup and smaller bread brands from around America.

‘Californians shouldn’t have to worry that the food they buy in their neighborhood grocery store might be full of dangerous additives or toxic chemicals,’ Asm Gabriel said in a statement.

‘This bill will correct for a concerning lack of federal oversight and help protect our kids, public health, and the safety of our food supply.’

The bill, which he filed alongside fellow Democratic co-sponsor Asm Buffy Wicks, targets five additives in particular, which also includes propylparaben.

Asm Gabriel told DailyMail.com ‘the goal of the bill is to protect kids and their parents from harmful chemicals.’

If it becomes law, the bill would also prevent the manufacturing of food products including these chemicals in the state — even if they are sold elsewhere.

While the state assembly is only concerned with matters in California, Asm Gabriel does see the new regulations having a national impact.

‘The idea here is for [companies] to change their recipes,’ he explained, saying he doesn’t expect many firms to abandon the large California market.

But, if they change their products for California, they will likely make the change nationwide.

‘It is unlikely they’ll have one recipe in California and one in Oklahoma.’

He said the five chemicals were specifically identified because each are already banned from 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 the popular candy Skittles were not fit to be eaten.

The naturally occurring powder is used to prevent goods from caking and often used as coloring.

It has been approved as an additive by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), though activists want the agency to revisit the 1966 decision. 

The calls for the additive to be banned come as increased research shows the potential dangers of the foods.