California becomes first state to ban four food additives

California food additives ban overview: 

• Who: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into a law a bill that bans the four food additives: brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and red dye 3. 
• Why: The ban is the result of Assembly Bill 418, also known as The California Food Safety Act.
• Where: The food additive ban will go into effect in the state of California at the beginning of 2027. 

California has banned food additives — brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and red dye 3 — from food products that are manufactured, sold, delivered, offered for sale, distributed or held in the state. 

AB418, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month, will go into effect at the beginning of 2027, according to a letter from the Office of the Governor that was addressed to the members of the California State Assembly. 

The bill, which the state is referring to as the The California Food Safety Act, would impose civil penalties of up to $5,000 for a first violation and up to $10,000 for each subsequent violation. 

Newsom said in his letter that the delayed implementation of the ban will allow “significant time” for brands to revise their recipes to avoid the “harmful” chemicals, which he noted have already been banned in “various” other countries. 

“Californians will still be able to access and enjoy their favorite food products, with greater confidence in the safety of such products,” the governor wrote.

NCA argues ban could end up disrupting national food regulation standards

The National Confectioners Association (NCA) has fought back against the ban, arguing that the bill is a “slippery slope” which could end up disrupting national food regulation standards. 

The NCA has asked federal regulators to step in, arguing the ban would “undermine consumer confidence and create confusion around food safety.” 

“California is once again 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,” the NCA said in a statement. 

California has become the first and only state in the U.S. to ban the four food additives, according to state Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, who sponsored the bill. 

Gabriel, in a statement released after Newsom signed the bill, said it is “unacceptable” that the U.S. is “so far behind the rest of the world when it comes to food safety.”

“This bill will not ban any foods or products — it simply will require food companies to make minor modifications to their recipes and switch to the safer alternative ingredients that they already use in Europe and so many other places around the globe,” Gabriel said. 

A class action lawsuit was filed against Mars Inc. last year by a consumer arguing the company manufactured and sold Skittles candies that are unsafe for human consumption due to them containing titanium dioxide. 

What do you think about The California Food Safety Act? Let us know in the comments.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• EPA finalizes rule restricting hydrocarbons in refrigeration, air conditioning, heating products
• FDA announces updated draft guidelines for food manufacturing
• FCC announces plans to restore net neutrality rules
• CPSC approves new federal mandatory safety standard for button, coin cell batteries