Some of the most popular lunchroom snacks from childhood are either banned from California lunchrooms or are slated to become much less colorful.
These include Doritos, Mountain Dew, M&Ms, Flamin' Hot Cheetos, Fruit Loops, Gatorade, Kool-Aid, Starburst, Skittles, and more.
This comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the California School Food Safety Act, which bans various artificial color additives that critics say are linked to developmental and behavioral problems in children.
They have been approved for human consumption by the Food and Drug Administration.
The law tells food manufacturers to remove problematic ingredients from their products by the end of 2027, including dyes such as Red 40, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 2, Blue 1, and Green 3. .
Failure to comply risks having food banned from public school vending machines and the Golden State's more than 12,000 school cafeterias.
“Today, we refuse to accept the status quo and are making sure everyone, including schoolchildren, has access to nutritious and delicious food, free of harmful and often addictive additives.” Newsom praised the bill.
“By giving all children a healthy start, we put them on the path to a future with less risk of obesity and chronic disease.”
Manufacturers have been instructed to replace artificial dyes with natural ingredients such as beet and carrot juice, and European versions have already begun to do so.
The law's author, state Rep. Jesse Gabriel, said the law would “empower schools to better protect the health and well-being of their students and require manufacturers to refrain from using these harmful additives.” “It sends a strong message to stop it.”
But people in the food industry were clearly not so enthusiastic.
The International Food Additives Council said in a statement that the bill is “misguided” and would “increase cost and complexity, ultimately impacting the people who need nutrition the most, while at the same time limiting national food regulations.” and cause consumer confusion.”
They also said California's approach “promotes unnecessary fear and distrust of the federal system.”
The bill's signing is the latest move by the liberal governor to go beyond the FDA. Last year, Newsom signed another law banning ingredients such as brominated vegetable oils, potassium bromate, propylparaben and red dye 3.
Brands must remove these ingredients from their products by January 2027 or face fines of up to $10,000.
