California schoolchildren will soon be without their favorite lunchtime snacks as the state moves closer to banning artificial ingredients in hundreds of foods.
The California School Food Safety Act was signed into law last week by Governor Gavin Newson. Bans Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3 in foods, beverages and snacks served in most K-12 school cafeterias statewide .
Officials insist the new law will not ban any foods, although it will require food manufacturers to remove artificial colors from their recipes and replace them with natural alternatives, such as carrot or beet juice, something many companies already do in markets. Europeans.
Companies have until December 31, 2027 to reformulate their products and remove ingredients that have been linked to developmental problems or see their foods blocked from being sold in schools.
The foods included contain additives that, under the latest California law, must be removed from foods sold in schools.
The latest legislation builds on one Governor Newsom signed into law last year, which bans brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and red 3 dye.
It was called the Skittles Ban before lawmakers changed it to exclude the dye from the popular candy.
Under that law, food manufacturers have until January 2027 to remove ingredients from their products or face fines of up to $10,000.
Under the most recent law, makers of products such as Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Doritos, Fruit Loops, Gatorade and M&Ms could see their products removed from the cafeterias of approximately 12,000 public and charter schools across the state if changes are not made by the deadline. .
Governor Newsom said, “Today we refuse to accept the status quo and make it possible for everyone, including school-aged children, to access nutritious, delicious foods without harmful and often addictive additives.”
“By giving every child a healthy start, we can put them on the path to a future with less risk of obesity and chronic disease.”
California has been at the forefront when it comes to efforts to crack down on food manufacturers that use certain synthetic food dyes linked to developmental and behavioral problems in children.
Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3, which the FDA has deemed safe to include in foods, have been associated with ADHD symptoms such as hyperactivity.
A 2015 meta-analysis reviewed trials in which food additives were removed from children’s diets to see how their ADHD symptoms changed, both in blinded (they didn’t know their diets had changed) and non-blinded (they knew the dyes were no longer part of the diet) situations. their diets).
In 14 unblinded studies with more than 2,000 participants, more than 47 percent showed improvement in ADHD symptoms.
Six additional studies used placebo-controlled diets or a crossover design, in which children alternated diets with and without food additives. In these trials, the improvement rate was 33 percent.
Some of these dyes have also been shown in animal studies to increase the risk of developing kidney and bladder tumors, but the evidence is scarce. Additives have also been linked to worsening asthma.
All food dyes included in the latest legislation have been linked to hyperactivity in children and worsening symptoms of ADHD, which impairs children’s ability to learn.
State Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, who authored the bill, said: ‘California once again leads the nation when it comes to protecting our children from dangerous chemicals that can harm their bodies and interfere with their ability to learn.
“This bipartisan bill will allow schools to better protect the health and well-being of students and sends a strong message to manufacturers to stop using these harmful additives.”
But the food industry has criticized California’s strict legislation, arguing that state governments should not take on the task of regulating what falls to the FDA.
The industry has also argued that if Governor Newsom takes over the role of the federal government, IT will undermine public trust in the FDA and its ability to protect the public from poisons and bad actors.
The International Food Additives Council, a trade organization, said: “This legislation is not only misguided, it also increases costs and complexity, ultimately affecting the population most in need of nutrition, while disrupting food regulations. and causes confusion among consumers.
“This approach fosters unnecessary fear and distrust in the federal system.”
Meanwhile, John Hewitt, senior vice president of the Consumer Brands Association, saying: ‘The approach taken by California politicians ignores our science- and risk-based process and is not the precedent we should be setting when it comes to feeding our families.’