California health committee OKs landmark bill that would ban food with cancer-linked additives

California today inched a step closer to banning popular candies like Sour Patch Kids and Campbell’s soup unless the brands change their recipes.

The state’s Democrat-dominated Committee on Health has rubber-stamped a bill outlawing five chemicals in foods that are linked to cancer, nerve damage and hyperactivity.

Politicians say the ban — which includes red dye no.3, potassium bromate and titanium dioxide — will ‘protect children’ and bring the state into line with the rest of the world.

The European Union has already banned the chemicals from use in its foods, but in the US only red dye no.3 has been blocked from use in cosmetics to date.

If the bill becomes law, food manufacturers would need to either change their products formula or see them stripped from the shelves of America’s most populous state.

Assemblymember (Asm) Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat for District 46 who proposed the bill, said: ‘There is no realistic chance that this bill will result in Skittles or any other product being pulled off the shelf.

‘The idea here is for these companeis to make minor modifications to their recipes so that these products no longer include dangerous and toxic chemicals.’

He added: ‘Skittles and many other brands have already made changes to their recipes in the European Union, the United Kingdom and other nations where these chemicals are banned.

‘While the chemical companies might want you to believe we’re going too far with this bill, we are in fact many steps behind the rest of the world.

‘We simply want our kids to have the same protection.’

California State Assembly’s Committee on Health is Democrat controlled and has primary jurisdiction over healthcare in the state.

The bill passed the committee by 12 votes to one, with two members not recording a vote.

It will not be referred to the state’s Environment Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, which oversees rules for toxic substances and hazardous materials.

Lawmakers aim to bring the law into force in the state by January 1, 2025.

The bill, dubbed AB418 and filed alongside Democrat co-sponsor Asm Buffy Wicks, targets five additives in foods, including brominated vegetable oil and propyl paraben.

It is being co-sponsored by lobbying organizations the Environmental Working Group and Consumer Reports.

If it becomes law, the bill would also prevent the manufacture 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 additives are put into the foods to enhance their flavor, appearance or help keep them fresh.

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.