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California has become the first U.S. state to outlaw the use of four potentially harmful food additives that have been linked to several diseases.
As part of the California Food Safety Act, red dye 3, propylparaben, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, are no longer able to be sold, delivered, distributed or manufactured in the state.
Over 3,000 foods use red dye 3, 204 use potassium bromate, 89 use brominated vegetable oil, and 52 use propylparaben, according to the Environmental Working Group’s Eat Well Guide.
Here are some popular brands that have products that may be impacted by the new legislation:
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Red dye 3
- Peeps, some PediaSure shakes, Nesquik strawberry milk
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Propylparaben
- Some Cake Mate icing and Betty Crocker decorating icing
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Potassium bromate
- Some frozen Stouffer’s frozen meals, Royal Caribbean Bakery hard dough bread
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Brominated vegetable oil
- Some Food Lion and Shoprite soda and some Faygo soda
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned red dye 3 from being used in cosmetics in 1990 over a potential cancer link, but hasn’t banned its use in food. Brominated vegetable oil has been linked to neurological problems, potassium bromate has been linked to causing cancer if consumed at a significant dose, and propylparaben has been linked to diminished fertility.
The FDA did not immediately respond to MarketWatch’s request for comment, but the organization’s website says the group’s evaluation of some of these food additives is ongoing.
Products with these four additives, which are already banned in several other countries in the European Union, Canada and Australia, will not come off the shelves immediately. The law doesn’t go into effect until 2027, which should give companies ample time to adapt to the new rules, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said.
“Signing this into law is a positive step forward on these four food additives until the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews and establishes national updated safety levels for these additives,” Newsom said in a letter to the California State Assembly.
“This bill will not ban any foods or products — it simply will require food companies to make minor modifications to their recipes and switch to the safer alternative ingredients that they already use in Europe and so many other places around the globe,” California Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, added.
Some people have referred to this new law as a “Skittles ban,” because a previous version of the bill also targeted titanium dioxide, a coloring additive found in Skittles and M&Ms.
Consumer Reports co-sponsored the bill, and called it “groundbreaking.”
And after it became law, the National Confectioners Association released a statement accusing California lawmakers of “once again making decisions based on soundbites rather than science.”
