A new proposal to ban the sale of processed foods containing chemicals linked to health issues has stirred outrage that some candy may soon be unavailable to buy in California grocery stores.
Assembly Bill 418 would prohibit the manufacture, sale, or distribution of any food products that contain Red Dye No. 3, Titanium Dioxide, Potassium Bromate, Brominated Vegetable Oil or Propyl Paraben in California. These ingredients are found in Skittles, Nerds, Hot Tamales and Ding Dongs.
The author behind the bill, Assembly member Jesse Gabriel, sat down with “Inside the Issues” host Alex Cohen to dispel the rumors behind his legislation.
He was inspired to create AB 418 because he is a big Skittles fan and started to worry about the health repercussions of consuming these sweets.
“It really hit home for me both as a father as someone who’s very concerned about the health of my three young kids, but also as a consumer who was eating these products all of the time every week and had no idea that there were dangerous and toxic chemicals in so many products that we all love and enjoy,” Gabriel said.
Some studies have shown these chemicals can lead to behavioral issues in children, damage to the immune system and harm to the reproductive system. The chemicals can be found in common food products like salad dressing, coffee creamer and chewing gum.
Two years ago, Europe’s equivalent of the FDA said titanium dioxide could no longer be considered safe when used as a food additive.
Gabriel began to investigate why the Food and Drug Administration was allowing Americans to continue consuming these chemicals.
“I always assumed that the FDA was out there watching our back. And what I learned is that unfortunately because of the way that the FDA is structured, about 99% of new chemicals that are put into the food supply, go through this loophole which generally recognizes it as safe,” he said.
In response to these statements, the FDA said these chemicals have been evaluated and that according to U.S. law, ingredients added to food must be safe under their intended conditions of use.
After Gabriel introduced the bill, it stirred up quite a controversy, with many critics calling the legislation a gross overstep that tells people what they can and cannot eat. However, the lawmaker made it clear that his legislation is not about banning any food products.
“The products aren’t going to come off the shelves. I love candy. I enjoy so many of these foods, we want people to enjoy them. What we’re really hoping here is that the companies are going to make minor modifications to their recipes.”
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