Natalia Chi
new proposal Specification California is trying to ban five chemicals frequently found in candy and snack foods, all of which are currently banned in the EU.
AB 418 was sponsored by California Democratic Rep. Jesse Gabriel and Buffy Wicks and targets Red Dye No. 3, titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oils, and propylparaben. The bill would ban the manufacture, sale, or distribution of foods containing these ingredients in California.
In the United States, these ingredients are found in a variety of common processed foods, including breakfast cereals, candies, sodas, cottage cheese, and trail mixes.
Gabriel press release argued that the target material could be toxic to consumers.
“California people don’t have to worry that the food they buy at their neighborhood grocery store might be full of dangerous additives and toxic chemicals,” Gabriel said. It will help correct the lack of federal oversight on the ground and keep our children, public health and food supplies safe.”
The EU does not allow these chemicals to be used in food. Increased risk of cancer, child behavior problems, harm to the reproductive systemand damage to the immune systemadded Gabriel.
The lawmaker’s statement also explains how chemicals like these are used and why they are approved in the United States when they are banned in other countries.
“Thousands of chemicals are now added to food to make it last longer, taste better and look more appealing,” the news release said. “Shockingly, most of these chemicals have never been independently evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or last reviewed decades ago.”
These chemicals are permitted for use in food in the United States under the “GRAS” rule, which stands for “generally recognized as safe.”
The FDA generally requires all food additives to be reviewed before entering a country’s food supply. but, glass If the food additive in question is “generally accepted among qualified professionals as being satisfactorily shown to be safe under the conditions of its intended use,” the manufacturer shall be reviewed. can be avoided.
Gabriel said that thanks to the rule, “chemical companies have added new substances to the food supply with little or no meaningful oversight by the federal government.”
Supporters of the bill note that some products containing these specific food additives omit them when the products are sold in other countries.
“Why are these toxic chemicals in our food?” said Susan Little of the Environmental Working Group. “The same products that food manufacturers sell in California. is sold in the EU and does not contain these toxic chemicals.”
If the bill passes, California will become the first and only state to ban foods containing certain additives.
