Bills advancing in several states could ban “thousands” of America’s favorite candy, snacks and sodas in their current form.
Last October, California passed a historic ‘skittles ban’ that banned four food additives linked to cancer, fertility problems and nervous system damage.
Now New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois have promoted similar measures, targeting a total of 13 additives banned in some European countries for alleged health risks.
New Jersey and Missouri are also considering bans. If they pass, they would force companies change your prescriptions or face legal action.
Experts say the bans could change the look, taste and texture of some American favorites.
The chart above shows the foods that are on the cutting board in some states.
Brian Ronholm, food safety director at Consumer Reports, a campaign group that has defended the bans, said: “There is no confusion among consumers on this issue: they want these chemicals removed from food.”
‘But when [consumers] “They see that the FDA has not been able to keep up with the latest research…they recognize that states are the only ones trying to protect them from toxic chemicals in food right now.”
California’s historic ‘Bowling Ban’, which goes into effect in January 2027, banned four food additives: brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and Red 3.
Those ingredients have been banned in Europe for years due to their links to the kidney, thyroid and gastrointestinal system cancer and mood disorders.
The ban in California triggered the introduction of a series of similar bills in New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Missouri and Pennsylvania.
But some states are looking to go even further than the Golden State.
New York’s bill calls for a ban on azodicarbinamide, used in breads and other baked goods, and butylhydroxyanisole, a preservative used in processed meats.
Me toolegislators in Pennsylvania are calling for several food dyes (red 40, yellow 5, yellow 6, blue 1 and blue 2) to be banned because of their links to hyperactivity in children.
Several studies, including a 2021 review by the California Environmental Protection Agency, have suggested that synthetic dyes can cause adverse behaviors, such as inattention, hyperactivity, and restlessness.
Scientists suggest this may be because the dyes interfere with dopamine in the brain, a neurotransmitter associated with mood and behavior, according to some studies.
“They’re related to concern,” Ronholm said, “so that’s very much the crux of the effort to try to remove these synthetic dyes from children’s foods.”
“These additives are introduced to children at an age where they are still developing, and when you introduce them at a young age… it actually just increases their risk over time.”
Several animal studies have also linked the additives to some cancers, including in the kidneys and blood.
Three of the dyes (red 40, yellow 5, and yellow 6) may also be contaminated with benzene, a known carcinogen.
Ronholm added: “When you combine the fact that they are linked to certain types of cancer but then behavioral difficulties, it really highlights the fact that these are things that should not be included in foods because of the increased risk that they present. That’s the crux of the bill.
California has introduced a bill that includes all dyes (and Green 3) with the goal of banning products that contain them in its schools.
The photo above shows journalist Luke Andrews checking items in grocery stores for food coloring.
Chris Gindlesberg of the National Confectioners’ Association said studies linking dyes to health effects were “glaringly flawed” and failed to demonstrate a direct link.
Four of the five additives included in Pennsylvania’s bill are already banned in some European countries, while one, Red 40, can only be used in products if they agree to also carry a warning label.
But Health Canada said it had “reviewed relevant scientific information on reported links between certain synthetic food colorings and neurobehavioral effects in children and has found that the evidence presented is insufficient to demonstrate a causal relationship.”