Big food groups aren’t thrilled about Governor Gavin Newsom signing AB 418, known as the California Food Safety Act, sometimes referred to colloquially as the "Skittles ban," into law on Saturday. The historic legislation bans the “manufacturing, selling, delivering, distributing, holding, or offering for sale” of food products that contain four dangerous additives — brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and red dye 3 — beginning on Jan. 1, 2027.
The additives are currently found in about 12,000 candies (including Skittles), cereals, and sodas, per Eater. California is the first state to enact such a ban on the additives, which have already been outlawed in the European Union.Although the contentious law strives to prohibit the use of carcinogens and food toxins, it’s facing ardent backlash from several food groups — like the National Confectioners Association (NCA) — that argue AB 418 isn’t rooted in science and will “create confusion around food safety.”
