Now before you get your dander up, don’t panic. Many of us candy-lovers greatly enjoy Skittles. And they aren’t going anywhere. But they may be manufactured without some of the more harmful chemicals. Which is what Assembly Bill 418 is banning. There was a lot of panic and fuss over the bill when it was first introduced. But there are a number of candies manufactured with brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and red dye 3. All of these chemicals have been proven to cause health problems over time. These additives are largely used for preservation, enhancement, or color. Not so much taste.
The bill passed the California legislature on September 12th, and is heading to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom to be signed into state law. Again, for any of you ready to be outraged, take a breath.
Europe has had many of these bans in place for years, including banning US-made cupcake sprinkles due to the harmful chemicals used to give them their color. Most likely titanium dioxide. Which has had a big fuss made over it. Unfortunately, it’s been removed from Assembly Bill 418. And, should the candy companies take the bill seriously, they have until 2027 to remove the chemicals from their products. Plenty of time to change the recipes.
These Chemicals Are Already Banned In Other Countries
Once the bill passed, The National Confectioners Association, kicked up a fuss over the exclusion of these chemicals. Stating that there was no proof the chemicals in question were harmful. However, the response was largely lukewarm. Either due to the fact that there was little chance of swaying opinion, or because they began to think harder about why those chemicals are necessary. Whatever the reason, they’re not fighting very hard to stop it. Forbes recently released a list of the confections that will have to change their recipes. Surprisingly, Skittles was not listed among them. Some that were such as Strawberry Yoo-Hoo, and Brach’s Candy Corn will probably suffer very little from the change.
So before going on a tirade about California taking away our Skittles, maybe take a second to actually read the bill. A lot of the chemicals used in US food are used to increase shelf life and make it look good. So perhaps the expiry date on your Yoo-Hoo might have a smaller window. Maybe Candy Corn won’t be as bright as before, or might age a little faster than we’d like. But isn’t that better than thinking you’re consuming chemicals that have been reported to cause memory issues and skin irritation?
