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- Skittles won't be banned in California, but some foods might soon have their recipes tweaked.
- Assembly Bill 418 bans some ingredients in food products, but Skittles doesn't contain any of them.
- The confusion stems from an old version of the bill that included titanium dioxide, which is in Skittles.
A new California bill has become widely known as the "Skittles ban," but that unofficial name is misleading — you don't have to worry about your favorite fruit-flavored candy being ripped from your hands.
However, by 2027, the ingredient lists of some popular snacks will probably look slightly different, even if you don't live in California.
That's because, earlier this year, Assembly Bill 418 was introduced in the California legislature. The bill, which was just signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newson, bans certain ingredients in food products.
The following ingredients will be banned under AB418:
- brominated vegetable oil
- potassium bromate
- propylparaben
- red dye no. 3.
If you look at the Skittles ingredients, none of its listed ingredients are included in this ban.
So why the confusion?
The reason some people started calling AB418 the "Skittles ban" is likely because when the bill was first introduced in February, it included a fifth ingredient, titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide is in Skittles, but it's no longer included in the ban. Skittles maker Mars didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment ahead of publication.
According to Consumer Reports, the ingredients banned by AB418 have been linked to hyperactivity, nervous system problems, and even cancer. Those ingredients were all been banned in the EU over a decade ago, but still remain legal in the US.
"The additives addressed in this bill are already banned in various other countries. Signing this into law is a positive step until the United States Food and Drug Administration reviews and establishes national updated safety levels for these additives," Newsom said in a statement.
Expect the recipes on some popular sweets to change
Even though Skittles aren't on the chopping block, other popular candies, snacks, and sodas do have ingredients that will be banned under AB418. Up to 12,000 products could be impacted by California's new bill.
This includes PEZ and Peeps, both of which have red 3 in some of their flavors, and Sun Drop soda, which has brominated vegetable oil according to the Environmental Working Group. Insider has reached out to the companies behind PEZ, Peeps, and Sun Drop for comment on any planned changes to their recipes.
These changes in ingredient lists probably will likely have a ripple effect beyond California's state lines, as Consumer Reports points out, since it's often more practical to change the recipe entirely than it is to make two versions of a product.
Still, just because a certain administration bans an ingredient, doesn't mean the entire product will be banned. It's more likely that a company will opt to change its formula, rather than avoid selling a product in a state, especially one as big as California. For example, in his statement, Newsom said that Skittles are still sold in Europe, despite the EU banning many ingredients and artificial colorants.
The bill also won't go into effect until 2027 — another four years. According to Newsom, this will give brands plenty of time to update their ingredient lists to be in compliance with the new bill.