California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed several bills into law, including:
- A ban on certain chemicals in food and drinks
- The Powering Up Californians Act, which aims to accelerate the state’s electrification efforts
- Legislation supporting LGBTQ+ Californians, including measures to better support vulnerable youth
- SB 616, which would raise the minimum amount of sick days available to all California workers from three to five
- A law that allows lower-level staff to join and form a union
Newsom has until October 14 to act on legislation that lawmakers have sent to his desk. He has more than 700 bills on his desk.
Advocates have long expressed concerns about the potential health problems that can be caused by eating products containing the additives, which other countries have already banned.
In a signing message, Newsom said the law is a “positive step forward” until the FDA reviews and establishes national regulations on the use of the four additives. The law takes effect in 2027 to give companies time to revise their recipes to exclude the “harmful chemicals,” Newsom said.
“Californians trust that the food products they consume are safe,” Newsom said in his statement. “I appreciate the author and stakeholders for working on amendments, which advance our shared public health objectives while maintaining consumer choice.”
Most chemicals added to food and packaging are meant to enhance flavor or appearance or are simply to preserve freshness.
While most are safe to eat, Consumer Reports and other advocacy groups say the four food chemicals included in the California Food Safety Act have been linked to a number of serious health concerns. Red Dye 3, for instance, has been found to cause cancer in animals, although there is not enough research linking the additive to cancer in humans.
But the use of Red Dye 3 − banned from cosmetics in the U.S. since 1990 − in food has elicited opposition nonetheless. Consumer Reports, an advocacy and research nonprofit, earlier this year called on the maker of Peeps candies to stop using Red Dye 3 in its products.
Additionally, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer food safety organization, was among 24 groups and scientists that joined Consumer Reports in starting a petition last fall calling on the FDA to formally remove Red Dye 3 from the list of approved color additives in foods, dietary supplements and oral medicines.
The chemicals banned by the California Food Safety Act haven’t been reviewed by the FDA for 30 to 50 years, if ever, according to Consumer Reports, which co-sponsored the bill with the Environmental Working Group.
“We’ve known for years that the toxic chemicals banned under California’s landmark new law pose serious risks to our health,” Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, said in a statement. “California has taken an important stand for food safety at a time when the FDA has failed to take action.”
Meanwhile, other states have already started to follow California’s lead. A similar bill making its way through committee in the New York legislature also seeks to ban the same four chemicals, along with titanium dioxide.
The Environmental Working Group has signed two petitions being considered by the FDA that would be a blanket ban on the use of titanium dioxide and Red Dye No. 3 in food.
“These petitions offer the FDA a chance to step up to the plate and do its job to protect Americans from toxic food chemicals,” Scott Faber, the group’s senior vice president for government affairs said in a statement. “We urge the FDA to take action on these petitions and protect the health of all consumers across the country.”
All four additives have already been banned by European regulators, with the narrow exception of Red Dye 3 in candied cherries, according to Consumer Reports. The European Union’s ban came in 2008 after it launched a full review of the safety of all food additives.
Rebuking the misnomer of “the Skittles ban” for the law, Newsom pointed out in his statement that the popular candy continues to be sold in places like the European Union despite existing bans on a number of chemical additives and colorants.
“The food industry is capable of maintaining product lines while complying with different public health laws,” Newsom said. “Californians will still be able to access and enjoy their favorite food products, with greater confidence in the safety of such products.”
