Poison in our Skittles: Spilled Milk #78

How can we get bad stuff out of our food?

Last week I spoke at a press conference on behalf of the Environmental Working Group and California Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel in support of AB 418, a bill that aims to eliminate harmful chemicals from our food. You heard me right. We are still struggling to eliminate harmful poisons from our food. This bill is important, despite it being a one-state piece of legislation. The hope is that other states will follow suit — and that Congress will step in and establish federal mandates as well as retool the FDA, which has behaved shamefully in this situation.

Photo by Jonathan J. Castellon on Unsplash

What’s at stake? Gabriel’s legislation is a first-in-the-nation bill to ban some of the most harmful food additives. If passed, it would bar titanium dioxide, propylparaben, brominated vegetable oil, Red Dye No. 3 and potassium bromate from candy and ice cream, cookies and other baked goods, soda and other popular food products sold in California. Each of these chemicals has well-documented health risks, including a higher risk of cancer, hyperactivity and other behavioral problems, harm to the nervous system and even damage to our DNA. Each is either already prohibited or restricted from use in processed food for sale in the EU. And notice their uses? Yup, primarily cheap goods that target our children.

“Californians shouldn’t have to worry that the food they buy in their neighborhood grocery store might be full of dangerous additives or toxic chemicals,” said Gabriel, chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection. “This bill will correct for a concerning lack of federal oversight and help protect our kids, public health, and the safety of our food supply.”

Californians shouldn’t have to worry, and neither should anyone else. Let your state and federal reps know how you feel: writing letters and making phone calls to your representatives offices really does work.