On October 7, California's Governor Newsom banned certain food ingredients starting in 2017. These include products that contain brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and red dye 3.
National Confectioners Association (NCA) released a statement the same day, saying:
“They’re making decisions based on soundbites rather than science. Governor Newsom’s approval of this bill will undermine consumer confidence and create confusion around food safety. This law replaces a uniform national food safety system with a patchwork of inconsistent state requirements created by legislative fiat that will increase food costs. This is a slippery slope that the FDA could prevent by engaging on this important topic. We should be relying on the scientific rigor of the FDA in terms of evaluating the safety of food ingredients and additives.”
Previous statements from the FDA included:
"The claim that these substances have not undergone FDA review is inaccurate. All these substances have been evaluated by the FDA," a U.S. Food and Drug Administration spokesperson said in an email to NBCLA.
"According to U.S. law (Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act) ingredients added to food must be safe under their intended conditions of use, and safety information must be available to establish a reasonable certainty of no harm before they are used in products on the market."
"The FDA is aware of recent actions taken by the European Union regarding use of titanium dioxide as a color additive. We note that other international regulatory bodies including the United Kingdom’s FSA, Health Canada, and FSANZ have not agreed with the European Union assessment," the FDA said.
Governor Newsom's full statement is below, and can also be found here:
To the Members of the California State Assembly:
I am signing Assembly Bill 418, which will prohibit any food product manufactured, sold, delivered, distributed, held, or offered for sale in California after January 1, 2027, from containing brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, or red dye 3.
Californians trust that the food products they consume are safe. I appreciate the author and stakeholders for working on amendments, which advance our shared public health objectives while maintaining consumer choice. The additives addressed in this bill are already banned in various other countries. Signing this into law is a positive step forward on these four food additives until the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews and establishes national updated safety levels for these additives.
There have been many misconceptions about this bill and its impacts. For example, attached to this message is a bag of the popular candy "Skittles," which became the face of this proposal. This particular bag of candy comes from the European Union - a place that already bans a number of chemical additives and colorants. This is demonstrable proof that the food industry is capable of maintaining product lines while complying with different public health laws, country-to-country.
Further, this bill's implementation is delayed until 2027 - significant time for brands to revise their recipes to avoid these harmful chemicals. Californians will still be able to access and enjoy their favorite food products, with greater confidence in the safety of such products.
