California to ban Skittles and Tamales? What this proposed law means for THESE food items

California may ban food items that contain five chemicals linked to health issues and are already banned in parts of Europe. The proposed law in the state, called AB 418, would apparently ban a host of food items, containing chemically active ingredients such as Titanium dioxide, Red dye No. 3, Potassium bromate, Brominated vegetable oil and Propylparaben.

The proposed law calls for banning the manufacture, sale or distribution of foods which contain these five chemicals.

Which all food items can be banned?

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The legislation would apparently ban a number of food items, from hard candies like Skittles and Hot Tamales to Nesquik strawberry milk and many baked goods, bread and sodas.

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If passed, California would be the first state in the United States to ban the following five chemicals from foods:

- Titanium dioxide, found in candies including Skittles and M&Ms, and some dairy products such as Kraft fat-free shredded cheddar cheese

- Propylparaben, found in various baked goods, trail mixes and tortillas

- Red dye No. 3, found in Hot Tamales, strawberry Nesquik, and some baked goods

- Potassium bromate, found in some white bread, flour and pizza dough

- Brominated vegetable oil, used in citric sodas including Sun Drop

California's proposed ban on food items: Why is it significant?

The proposition of the law comes a year after a California man sued Skilles manufacturer Mars, Inc., saying the candy is "unfit for human consumption" due to the presence of titanium dioxide in it.

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The company responded by saying all its ingredients are safe and used in compliance with food safety regulators.

What would the ban mean?

Typically, such bans do not mean that the concerned products get pulled from shelves. Instead, companies find other ingredients.

"I love Skittles. I eat them all the time," Jesse Gabriel, the lawmaker who introduced the bill last month, was quoted as saying by USA TODAY.

"There is a zero per cent chance this is actually going to result in a ban of Skittles," he said. "All we want the companies to do is switch their recipes in the same way that they've done in Europe, and Canada and the U.K. and Brazil and other countries that have banned these chemicals."

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