New California bill could ban color dyes in kids’ favorite snacks in public schools

On March 12, 2024, California State Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D – Encino), with the advice of Celebrity Chef Tom Colicchio, introduced a new bill to the State Assembly with the hopes of banning certain color food additives from being sold in California public schools. Snacks with these color additives – specifically, Red 40, Yellow 5 and 6, Blue 1 and 2, and Green 3 – include kid favorites like Nacho Cheese Doritos, Lucky Charms, Mountain Dew, Gatorade Glacier Freeze, Strawberry Pop-tarts, M&Ms and many more. 

The bill also calls for the ban of titanium dioxide, which is an additive not only used in foods but also in sunscreens, cosmetics, paints and plastics. In foods, titanium dioxide can be used to add a white tint. 

Another of Assemblymember Gabriel’s bills was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on Oct 7, 2023. The California Food Safety Act bans food companies from selling foods with certain food and color additives such as Red-3, brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, and propylparaben beginning in 2027. Although the March bill targets public schools, the California Food Safety Act will broadly affect food sales throughout the state.

In the new bill that singles out sales of foods in public schools, the bill points to a correlation between the color additives and certain health effects, such as increased hyperactivity in children with ADHD, neurobehavioral issues, and cancer.

“California has a responsibility to protect our students from chemicals that harm children and that can interfere with their ability to learn,” Gabriel said when announcing the bill. While Gabriel cites research that supports these claims, some scientists disagree with the studies. 

Today, I was proud to join celebrity chef @tomcolicchio and public health experts to introduce #AB2316, legislation banning 7 harmful chemicals linked to serious health concerns including DNA damage, cancer, hyperactivity, and neurobehavioral issues from food served to students. pic.twitter.com/SybexzSWRZ

— Asm. Jesse Gabriel (@AsmJesseGabriel) March 12, 2024

Dr. Sydney Hiller, a Chemistry PhD and research assistant at the University of Southern California told High School Insider, “I would love to see the research behind that statement, and I think it is really important when you are putting together a bill, rather than just using these buzzwords like ‘pediatric cancer’ or ‘neurobehavioral issues,’ [you should ask] where is this research coming from? You can really find a study that will show you whatever you want to claim. It so much depends on the quality of the work and how it’s been published, is it in a peer-reviewed journal?”

When analyzing research, Dr. Hiller explained that we should be on the lookout for sample size, whether the research is being done on an animal model, and the laboratory standards in place. 

“We’re talking about parts per million, often parts per billion. These are really, really small quantities of these chemical additives. Most things, at a certain level, are carcinogens. It’s really finding what that level is, where it’s harmful. And that is what California has demonstrated to not understand, time and time again,” said Dr. Hiller. She continues explaining that the state of California warns its citizens about the presence of carcinogens so often, that the state tends to over warn about these dangers, because they warn about almost everything. 

Contrastly, Melanie Benesh of the Environmental Working Group, a co-sponsor of the California Bill, told The Guardian, “Consumers can’t feel assured that the FDA is making sure that the chemicals that they eat every day are safe. That’s why states have had to step in.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently approves all of the food dyes and additives that the March 2024 California bill proposed to ban in public schools. By contrast, according to the Daily Mail, the European Union has banned titanium dioxide and potassium bromate, but approved the use of Red Dye 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 with a requisite warning about associated risks. The European Union “concluded that there is no safety concern for the use of indigo carmine” or Blue 2 in food. Green 3, a lesser-used dye,  is also banned from use as a food colorant in the European Union. 

More recently, the bill was re-referred to the Committee on Education.