The state of California made history this week with sweeping new food legislation. Months after a bill was proposed that would ban titanium dioxide, red dye 3, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and brominated vegetable oil, California Governor Gavin Newsom has officially signed the California Food Safety Act into law. The newly signed bill bans all of those potentially toxic food additives—except for titanium dioxide.
"I am signing Assembly Bill 418, which will prohibit any food product manufactured, sold, delivered, distributed, held, or offered for sale in California after January 1, 2027, from containing brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, or red dye 3," read the signed proposal from Governor Newsom.
It's unclear why titanium dioxide, which is already banned in Europe and is an ingredient in Skittles, wasn't included on the list. Skittles will not banned in California, even though he law was initially known as a "Skittles ban." It's been reported that around 12,000 other candies, cereals, and sodas would be banned starting in 2027. Among the popular items that would be prohibited are Peeps and most grocery store-made red velvet cupcakes. Manufacturers would need to change their products' recipes by 2027 to legally sell them in the state.
Interestingly enough, the governor did attach a bag of Skittles from the European Union to his proposal to prove that the food industry can comply with public health laws.
"For example, attached to this message is a bag of the popular candy 'Skittles,' which became the face of this proposal. This particular bag of candy comes from the European Union—a place that already bans a number of chemical additives and colorants. This is demonstrable proof that the food industry is capable of maintaining product lines while complying with different public health laws, country-to-country," he wrote.
