Will Skittles be no longer sold in California?
The state recently passed a bill that would change the ingredients in some of America’s most popular candies and snacks, and that’s something Californians are thinking about.
The four ingredients are brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propyl paraben and red dye No. 3.
Since Skittles’ ingredient titanium dioxide was initially included in the bill, many thought the candy would be banned in California.
But it turns out that titanium dioxide was removed from the ban, leaving Skittles unaffected by the changes. Since Skittles doesn’t contain any of the other four ingredients listed above, it’s safe to say the candy won’t be undergoing any major changes at the moment.
In fact, when Rep. Jesse Gabriel, a Democratic congressman from Woodland Hills, Calif., introduced legislation called Assembly Bill (AB) 418, which would ban the sale in California of drugs containing The bill quickly attracted attention when it came to processing foods containing what he claimed were dangerous and toxic chemicals. Known as the “Skittles Ban,” it has now become a misnomer.
In response to AB418, TODAY.com contacted Mars, the maker of Skittles, who referred us to the National Confectioners Association because the McLean, Virginia-based candy conglomerate is one of its largest member companies. The association told TODAY.com in a statement that it “strongly” opposes AB418.
“Chocolate and candy are safe to enjoy and have been for centuries. We strongly oppose AB418 because there is no evidence to support banning the ingredients listed in the bill,” the statement reads.
“The ingredients that would be banned under this proposal have all been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Food safety is a top priority for American Candy Company, and we do not use any ingredients in our products that do not meet the FDA’s strictest safety standards.”
As for Gabriel, he told TODAY.com that he doesn’t want to ban Skittles, he just wants to make the American snack less “dangerous” to eat.
“The idea here is for these companies to make minor modifications to their formulations so that these products do not contain dangerous and toxic chemicals,” he said. “Skittles and many other brands have already changed their formulas in the EU, UK and other countries that have banned the use of these chemicals. We just hope they do the same in the US.”
Skittles may be out of the woods for now, but up to 12,000 products, such as Peeps containing No. 3 red dye, may still be affected by AB418.
But just because an ingredient is banned doesn’t mean the entire product will be banned as well. The bill doesn’t take effect until 2027, giving brands time to change their formulas rather than decide not to sell their products throughout the state.
