California could BAN Skittles, Sour Patch Kids and Campell's soup trends now
California lawmakers plan to ban food additives found in candy such as Skittles, Sour Patch Kids and some baked goods in the US.
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.
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.
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.
Asm Jesse Gabriel (pictured) filed the bill last month. He hopes to 'protect' families in California by banning these potentially harmful substances
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.
A German review of previous research published in 2015 found titanium dioxide could accumulate in a person's bloodstream, kidney, liver and spleen.
In 2017, French researchers found this build-up could put people at risk of intestinal inflammation, immune system damage and even cancer.
Plaintiffs in the California case allege that Mars, which
