Skittles and Sour Patch Kids could be banned in insane crackdown over cancer fear
It could be bad news for sweet tooths in California.
Favourite treats, including Skittles and Sour Patch Kids, could soon be outlawed in California under a new crackdown. Five common food additives found in the lunchbox staples have been linked to cancer, DNA and organ damage. Now Democratic Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, who represents part of Los Angeles, filed AB418 to ban the products in the Golden State.
Foods also potentially impacted include 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 neighbourhood grocery store might be full of dangerous additives or toxic chemicals,” he 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.”
Creating a bill does not immediately mean a new law has been brought in, but it triggers the process of proposing legislation.
Brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate and titanium dioxide, three of the additives in question, are already banned in the EU.
Dye Red 3 is banned from use in cosmetic products in America.
Titanium dioxide is found in Skittles and Sour Patch Kids.
Asm Gabriel told DailyMail.com that while the bill only restricts the additives in California, he hopes it will lead to changes nationwide.
“The idea here is for [companies] to change their recipes,” he explained.
“It is unlikely they'll have one recipe in California and one in Oklahoma.”
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Titanium dioxide can accumulate in a person's bloodstream, kidney, liver and spleen, according to a 2015 German review.
In 2017, French researchers found this build-up could put people at risk of intestinal inflammation, immune system damage and even cancer.
Brominated vegetable oil and potassium bromate are also already banned in the UK as food additives.
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Neil W. McCabe, from One America News, hailed the proposed law, commenting: “Finally, some good news.”
Twitter user Kathleen Downes added: “Wow! California might actually do something right.”
User @SpiceCrispyJojo also said: “IT’S ABOUT TIME!! …that Corporate America gets called out for dumping toxic s*** in the bellies of our children with chemicals never allowed in other countries.”
However, others were not keen on the move, with user @j_flashgordon saying: “If California, the big nanny state, wants to ban these products because there might be some association with cancer and people are too stupid to decide for themselves, then I think California needs to ban Interstates 405 and the 5 through LA, probably the biggest contributors to cancer then a package of Skittles is.”
Another user, @Spawn_of_Al, said: “We really need to push CA out of the country. It can't be saved.”
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