A California Bill Wants To Ban Your Favorite Snacks & Here’s Which Brands Could Go
They’re considered "toxic."
Packages of Skittles candy. Right: A Mountain Dew bottle on ice.
Can you imagine going to the store, looking for your favorite candy snacks and being told by the employees that it has been banned? This could soon be a possibility in the state of California.
A recent bill introduced by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel is the first in the nation looking to ban the sale of food products containing several dangerous chemicals. AB 418 would prohibit the sale, distribution, and manufacture of snacks containing the following ingredients:
- Brominated vegetable oil
- Potassium bromate
- Propylparaben
- Red dye 3
- Titanium dioxide
According to a press release by Gabriel’s office, these chemicals are currently banned in the European Union (EU) due to different studies that have shown the link between the previously mentioned substances and health issues like increased risk of cancer, behavioral problems in children, damage to the reproductive system, and negative effects on the immune system.
"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," Gabriel said. "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 release states that most of these substances have never been "independently evaluated" by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or were last reviewed several years ago.
So, what are some of the most popular snacks or candy items that contain these chemicals?
Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) can be found in soft drinks like Mountain Dew, Squirt, Fresca, Fanta, and some sports drinks, like Powerade.
Potassium bromate is mostly in bread products. According to an Environmental Working Group (EWG) article, products like Best Choice Wheat Slice Bread, Gomez Flour Tortillas, and Balducci’s Sugar Cookies contain this substance.
EWG data shows propylparaben is found in processed bakery items like Sara Lee cinnamon rolls, Weight Watchers cakes, and La Banderita Corn Tortillas.
Red dye 3 is apparently found in many different food items. EWG’s food scores data found the chemical to be in a total of 2,954 products, which include brands like Sweetarts, Snickers, Sour Patch Kids, Ring Pop, Pop Tarts, Rice Krispies, Peeps, Oreo, Nerds, and Nesquik, among others.
Additionally, titanium dioxide is added to products from brands like Tootsie Roll, Swedish Fish, Skittles, Jelly Belly, and Kool-Aid, among others.
If approved, this bill would make California the first state in the U.S. to ban the use of these chemicals in foods.