CALIFORNIA BANS RED FOOD DYE FOUND IN MANY SWEETS
Several food additives have been placed under the spotlight in the US state of California.
This comes after the state’s Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill declaring four popular food additives illegal in the state.
One of the additives is the very controversial red dye no. 3. It is found in both Skittles and PediaSure, both products that are marketed towards kids.
The new California Food Safety Act prohibits the production, sale or distribution of food products that contain the dye and three other popular additives namely brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, and propylparaben.
In a letter about the bill, Newsom wrote “there have been many misconceptions about this bill and its impacts. For example, attached to his message is a bag of the popular candy ‘Skittles’, which became the face of this proposal.”
It’s believed that the red dye no. 3 causes cancer, especially in the thyroid.
In 1990, the same dye was banned from being used in cosmetics across the US.
Image credit: CNN