California has become the first state to ban four toxic chemicals in popular candies, drinks, and food.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the new bill into law on Saturday as the chemicals are believed to be linked to certain health problems, including cancer. The Democratic lawmaker's new law bans the red dye No. 3 chemical used as food coloring for products such as Peeps, the marshmallow treat most associated with Easter.
California Bans Toxic Chemicals in Food Supply
The chemical has been linked to cancer and has been banned from makeup for over three decades. The new law also prohibits brominated vegetable oil, used in some store-brand sodas, and potassium bromate and propylparaben, two chemicals used in baked goods.
The California governor said in a signing statement that the additives addressed in the bill are already banned in various other countries. All four chemicals included in the new ban are also prohibited in foods in the European Union, as per ABC7.
In Newsom's statement, he said that signing the bill into law is a positive step forward on the four food additives until the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews and establishes national updated safety levels.
The company that makes Peeps, Just Born Inc., has argued that it has been looking for other dye options for its products. Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Los Angeles Democrat, authored the bill that Newsom recently signed.
In a Saturday statement, Gabriel said that the governor's signature represents a huge step forward in protecting children and families in the state from dangerous and toxic chemicals in the food supply.
Gabriel's office said that the bill would not result in any products being removed from the shelves; instead, it would only require companies to adjust their formulas. He noted that the use of the banned chemicals has already been stopped in the 27 nations of the EU and many other countries due to scientific research linking them to significant health issues, according to KTLA.
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Gavin Newsom's New Bills
Several major brands and manufacturers, such as Coke, Pepsi, Gatorade, and Panera, have voluntarily stopped using the additives that are banned under AB 418, also known as The California Food Safety Act, due to concerns about their potential effects on human health.
Despite Newsom's newly signed law, it would not take effect until 2027, which he noted would be enough time for companies to adapt to the new rules. The governor also signed a law that allows legislative staffers to unionize, which is a move that comes after lawmakers passed several labor initiatives during a summer of strikes by hotel workers, actors, and writers.
A Democrat representing Inglewood, assemblymember Tina McKinnor, introduced the bill and said in July during a Senate Judiciary Committee that it was hypocritical for lawmakers to ask staffers to write legislation that expands other workers' right to unionize when those same employees are unable to form a union, said Fortune.
