Bill Would Ban the Sale of Processed Foods Containing Dangerous Chemicals

SACRAMENTO, CA — Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D – Woodland Hills) has introduced legislation that would ban the sale of processed foods in California that contain certain dangerous and toxic chemicals.

A first-of-its-kind measure, Assembly Bill (AB) 418 would prohibit the manufacture, sale, or distribution of any food product in California containing Red Dye No. 3, Titanium Dioxide, Potassium Bromate, Brominated Vegetable Oil, or Propyl Paraben. Each of these chemicals is currently banned in the European Union (EU) due to scientific studies that have demonstrated significant public health harms, including increased risk of cancer, behavioral issues in children, harm to the reproductive system, and damage to the immune system.

“Californians shouldn’t have to worry that the food they buy in their neighborhood grocery store might be full of dangerous additives or toxic chemicals,” said Assemblymember Gabriel, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection. “This bill will correct for a concerning lack of federal oversight and help protect our kids, public health, and the safety of our food supply.”

“Why are these toxic chemicals in our food?” said Susan Little, the Environmental Working Group’s Governmental Affairs Senior Advocate for California. “We know they are harmful and that children are likely eating more of these chemicals than adults. It makes no sense that the same products food manufacturers sell in California are sold in the EU but without these toxic chemicals. We thank Assemblymember Gabriel’s efforts to remove these toxic additives from California’s food supply.”

Currently, there are thousands of chemicals added to food to make it last longer, taste better, and appear more enticing. Shockingly, most of these chemicals have never been independently evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or were last reviewed decades ago. Instead, these chemicals have entered the nation’s food supply through a loophole in federal law—known as GRAS, or “generally recognized as safe”—that was intended to apply to common household ingredients like vinegar. As a result of this loophole, chemical companies have added new substances to the food supply with almost no meaningful federal oversight.

Many of the dangerous additives currently banned in the EU and other nations are found in processed foods and candies that are marketed to children, low-income consumers, and communities of color in the United States.

If enacted, AB 418 would make California the first state in the nation to ban the use of these dangerous chemicals in processed foods. The measure is expected to be heard in committee in the coming weeks.

Editors Note – here is a release from the Environmental Working Group and Consumer Reports

• Document – Copy of CA Food Bill Chemicals_ Uses risks regulatory status store brand limits and alternatives – Google Sheets

Landmark bill would protect Californians from harmful additives in food and candy

A.B. 418 is co-sponsored by the Environmental Working Group and Consumer Reports.

More than 10,000 chemicals are allowed for use in food sold in the U.S. Nearly 99 percent of those introduced since 2000 were approved by the food and chemical industry, not the Food and Drug Administration, the agency tasked with ensuring our food supply is safe.

Most of the chemicals added to food and food packaging to enhance flavor or appearance, to preserve freshness, or to serve other purposes in food are likely safe to eat. But these five chemicals the bill targets pose a threat to public health:

• Red Dye No. 3 has been linked to cancer

and behavioral problems in children. It is found in more than 2,000 food products, including many types of candy, cookies and other foods marketed to children. In 1990, the FDA banned

• many uses of the dye, citing cancer risks. Since 1994, the European Union allowed Red No. 3 to be used in candied and cocktail cherries only.
• Brominated vegetable oil can build up in the body and has been linked to several health harms
• , including to the nervous system. It is prohibited in the EU from use in processed foods.
• Potassium bromate has been linked to cancer
• but has not been reviewed for safety by the FDA since 1973. It has been prohibited from use in processed food in the EU since 1990 and since then has been on California’s Proposition 65 list of chemicals that may cause cancer.
• Propyl paraben has not been thoroughly reviewed for safety by the FDA. It has been linked to harm to the hormone and reproductive systems, including decreased sperm counts. It has been prohibited from use in food in the EU since 2006 but is still used
• as a preservative in the U.S.
• Titanium dioxide has been linked to damage to our DNA and harm to the immune system. In 2022, the EU prohibited it from use in food offered for sale, but it is still allowed

in food sold in the U.S.  It is found in popular snacks like Skittles.