California legislature passes first-in-the-nation ban on dangerous additives

Jesse Gabriel
Santa Barbara Independent
Tue, 12 Sep 2023 02:02 UTC

© Shutterstock/KJN/Getty Images

California to ban ingredients found in common foods: hamburger buns (potassium bromate), orange soda (brominated vegetable oil), candy and and corn tortillas (propyl paraben).

Today, the California State Legislature passed first-of-its-kind legislation to prohibit the use of four dangerous chemicals in processed foods and drinks sold in California. Authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), Assembly Bill (AB) 418 - the California Food Safety Act - would prohibit the manufacture, sale, or distribution in California of any food product containing Red Dye No. 3, Potassium Bromate, Brominated Vegetable Oil, or Propyl Paraben. The use of these chemicals has already been banned in the 27 nations in the European Union (EU) as well as many other countries due to scientific research linking them to significant health harms, including cancer, reproductive issues, and behavioral and developmental issues in children.

Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel remarked:

"Today's bipartisan vote marks a huge step forward in our effort to protect children and families in California from dangerous and toxic chemicals in our food supply. It's 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.

"There's a readily available substitute for each of these ingredients. For example, sorbic acid is often used instead of propyl paraben, ester gum instead of brominated vegetable oil, and calcium carbonate instead of titanium dioxide.

"It's possible for companies to make a healthy profit without poisoning kids. In many cases they now have increased confidence from consumers who want to buy foods that are healthy."

Former Governor and sports and fitness icon Arnold Schwarzenegger, who recently endorsed AB 418 in his daily Pump Club Newsletter, said:

"Things like this aren't partisan. They're common sense. I'm a small government guy. But I've also seen that sometimes, in a world where every big industry has an army of lobbyists, and our kids have no one fighting for them, government has to step in."

AB 418 was amended in the State Senate to remove titanium dioxide from the list of banned additives and to delay implementation of the bill until 2027, thereby giving food companies more than enough time to negotiate new contracts and phase in new recipes.

Notably, many major brands and manufacturers - including Coke, Pepsi, Gatorade, and Panera - have voluntarily stopped using the additives that would be banned under AB 418 because of concerns about their impact on human health. One of these chemicals - Red Dye No. 3 - is already banned by the FDA for use in cosmetics but is somehow still allowed in food.

Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, said:

"Toxic chemicals that have been shown to cause cancer and other chronic health problems should not be allowed in our food. Unfortunately, the FDA hasn't taken action to protect the public despite the well-documented risks these harmful food chemicals pose to our health. We applaud California lawmakers for voting to ban these hazardous chemicals in food and urge Governor Newsom to sign this landmark legislation into law."

If signed into law, AB 418 would not ban any products; it would instead require companies to make modifications to products sold in California and likely prompt a nationwide transition to safer alternatives.

Scott Faber, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs at the Environmental Working Group.

"AB 418 is the most important food safety bill in more than a decade and its passage would be a historic victory for protecting kids and families from dangerous food chemicals. For decades, chemical companies have been able to exploit a loophole that allows food additives to escape adequate review and oversight by the FDA. Since the FDA has failed to keep us safe, it has become the responsibility of states like California to step up and lead."

AB 418 now heads to Governor Newsom's desk, where it must be signed into law or vetoed by October 14th.

Comment: What foods are these dangerous ingredients in, and why?

Brominated vegetable oil is used in sports drinks and sodas as an emulsifier — a substance that helps blend liquids that don't otherwise blend easily, such as oil and water. (According to the FDA, it keeps citrus flavorings from separating and floating to the top of the beverage.) According to a database hosted by the EWG, it's used in about 70 sodas and beverages, most of them vibrantly colored and citrus-flavored.

Potassium bromate is a flour "improver," added to strengthen dough, make baked goods rise higher in the oven, and enhance their texture. The EWG counts some 180 products containing potassium bromate, including many packaged breads, dumplings, and frozen foods.

Propyl paraben is used as a preservative, extending the shelf life of packaged foods by preventing growth of mold and bacteria. It can be found in more than 50 products in U.S. grocery stores, including many packaged corn tortillas, baked desserts, and cake icing, according to the EWG.

Red Dye No. 3, also known as FD&C Red No. 3, red dye 3, and erythrosine, is a food coloring used to give a bright, cherry-red color to thousands of food products now on shelves, including candies, baked goods, snacks, cereals, and sodas.

Titanium dioxide is also used as a food coloring, in this case to make coffee creamers, baking decorations, and sauces appear whiter than they otherwise would, and in some candy and other products as a kind of "paint primer" to make other colors, added later, appear more vivid.

What Are the Safety Concerns?

Peer-reviewed studies conducted on rodents have linked brominated vegetable oil (BVO) to neurological problems; thyroid, heart and liver problems; and behavioral, developmental and reproductive issues.

Potassium bromate has been linked to cancer.

Propyl paraben has been shown to cause endocrine disruption and reproductive issues in lab animal testing.

Red Dye No. 3 has been found to cause cancer and thyroid tumors in lab animals and has been linked to hyperactivity and other neurobehavioral effects in children. Health effects like these led the FDA to ban its use in cosmetics more than 30 years ago.

Titanium dioxide has been linked to digestive tract problems, and it was banned in Europe because scientists there could not rule out genotoxicity, the ability of the substance to damage genetic information in the body's cells

So Why Are These Additives in Our Food?

The short answer is that it's technically legal to use them in food, and nobody with authority — notably, the FDA — is saying otherwise. These additives have been used in food in the U.S. for decades and, as the National Confectioners Association says in its letter opposing AB-418, most have been evaluated and approved for that use by the FDA. (Propyl paraben is an exception; see below.)

The problem, health and safety advocates say, is that those FDA approvals are now decades old. Bromated vegetable oil was last meaningfully reviewed by the FDA for safety in 1977; potassium bromate in 1973; propyl paraben in 1977; Red Dye No. 3 in 1982; and titanium dioxide in 1966.

Since then, there has been a sea change in the scientific understanding of these additives, their health effects, and, more broadly, the ways that chemicals can negatively affect human health in both the short and long term. The technologies and methods used to analyze health risks have also changed dramatically in recent decades.

Why Isn't the FDA Doing More?

Part of the reason is that the FDA doesn't get adequate funding from Congress for food chemical reviews, says CR's Ronholm. But the agency has also failed to prioritize food chemical issues, he adds.

Indeed, a recent independent panel evaluation of the FDA's Human Food Program, commissioned by the agency in the wake of last year's baby formula crisis, acknowledged the budget issue but also described a program lacking leadership and strategic vision and plagued by structural problems, a "culture of indecisiveness and inaction," and an atmosphere of "constant turmoil" and "aversion to risk."

In response, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf pledged to begin putting the panel's recommendations in place and said the effort would be a "top priority for the agency," and later announced plans to hire a new deputy commissioner to lead, among other things, "programs aimed at preventing and responding to chemical, microbial, and other hazards."

How Can You Avoid These Ingredients?

Short answer: Read the ingredients list. If they're in the food, they have to be listed.

In addition, keep in mind that numerous large food manufacturers and retailers have pledged not to use some or all of these additives or sell products that contain some or all of them. Whole Foods and Kroger appear to be the only grocery chains that have promised to rid their shelves of these ingredients altogether, but Aldi, Food Lion, Giant, Publix, ShopRite, and SuperValu say they have removed them from certain store brands. In addition, the Coca-Cola Company, Dunkin Donuts, Panera, Papa Johns, and PepsiCo have each pledged not to use or sell products with some of these additives.