A California bill may alter the way your favorite candy, like Skittles, is made

If you hear the phrase “Skittles ban” going around, don’t panic. Skittles are not being banned—at least not yet.

The phrase was coined by critics to describe a bill passed by the state Assembly in California that would effectively prohibit the use of five chemical additives found in food products—red dye No. 3, titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, and propyl paraben—including, yes, Skittles, packaged cookies, and frostings.

While consumer advocates supporting the bill have touted the numerous health risks that come with the additives, its critics, which include (shocker!) candy brands, argue that the federal and state approval systems for the food additives have found them to be safe. Either way, the debate is only getting more heated by the day.

Real impact: Then there are others who say the ban would change the way a lot of the products taste. But is that really true?

Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel—who co-wrote the bill with fellow Assembly Member Buffy Wicks—offered some relief in speaking to WSJ, saying, “If I thought this would ban Skittles, I would vote against it. I don’t believe this is going to pull a single product off the shelf.”

He added that the chemicals are already banned in Europe, and there are “safer alternative ingredients.”

While brands like Coke, Pepsi, Dunkin’, and Panera have voluntarily stopped using the additives, further underscoring Gabriel’s point, corporations such as the International Association of Color Manufacturers continue to oppose it.

Whether it’ll actually become law remains to be seen, but if it does, it would require food and beverage brands to alter their recipes to be able to sell their products in California and possibly change their formulas for the entire country. Furthermore, brands that violate the law would be liable to pay up to $5,000 in fines for the first offense and $10,000 for each subsequent infraction. We’ll keep you posted!