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California to ban Skittles and other candies officially from 2027
This comes after Governor Gavin Newsom signed bill AB 418, which is also known as The California Food Safety Act
California is set to ban Skittles and other candies officially from 2027. This comes after Governor Gavin Newsom signed bill AB 418, which is also known as The California Food Safety Act. The bill will commence on January 1, 2027.
The bill targets food products containing brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, and propylparaben. It also targets red dye 3, which is found in Skittles and other confectionery like PEZ, Hot Tamales and Dubble Bubble gum.
According to the Legislative Counsel’s Digest, The California Food Safety Act states that “a person or entity shall not manufacture, sell, deliver, distribute, hold, or offer for sale, in commerce a food product for human consumption” that contains the substances in question.
What does the bill say?
“The bill would make a violation of these provisions punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for a first violation and not to exceed $10,000 for each subsequent violation, upon an action brought by the Attorney General, a city attorney, a county counsel, or a district attorney,” the bill reads, according to Hypebeast.
After the bill was signed, governor Newsom’s office shared a statement saying, “There have been many misconceptions about this bill and its impacts. For example, attached to this message is a bag of the popular candy Skittles, which became the face of this proposal.”
It added, “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.”
What does the National Confectioners Association say?
Meanwhile, opposing the bill, the National Confectioners Association said, “They’re making decisions based on soundbites rather than science. Governor Newsom’s approval of this bill will undermine consumer confidence and create confusion around food safety. This law replaces a uniform national food safety system with a patchwork of inconsistent state requirements created by legislative fiat that will increase food costs.”
“This is a slippery slope that the FDA could prevent by engaging on this important topic. We should be relying on the scientific rigor of the FDA in terms of evaluating the safety of food ingredients and additives,” it added.
