California lawmakers plan to ban food additives in candies like Skittles, Sour Patch Kids and some baked goods in the US.

Rep. Jesse Gabriel, who represents the part Los Angelesfiled AB418 last month to end the use of five common dietary supplements linked to cancerDNA and organ damage.

Of the five additives to be included in the ban, three — brominated oil, potassium bromate and titanium dioxide — are banned in the EU. One of them, the dye Red 3, is banned for use in cosmetic products in America.

If the bill becomes law, foods containing them would either have to change their formula or be banned from sale in America’s most populous state.

Products that may be affected include other treats such as marmalade, PEZ candy, Trident sugar-free gum, Campbell’s soup and smaller brands of bread from All America.

“Californians should not have to worry that the food they buy at their neighborhood grocery store may be full of dangerous additives or toxic chemicals,” Asm Gabriel said in a statement.

“This bill will fix the lack of federal oversight and help protect our children, public health and the safety of our food.”

The bill, which he filed with Democratic co-sponsor Asm Buffy Weeks, specifically targets five additives, including propylparaben.

Asm Gabriel told DailyMail.com that “the aim of the bill is to protect children and their parents from harmful chemicals”.

If it becomes law, the bill would also prevent food products containing these chemicals from being manufactured in the state — even if they are sold elsewhere.

While the state assembly only deals with issues in California, Asm Gabriel sees the new rules as having a national impact.

“The idea is here for [companies] to change their recipes,” he explained, saying he doesn’t expect many firms to leave the large California market.

Asm Jesse Gabriel (pictured) introduced the bill last month. He hopes to “protect” California families by banning these potentially harmful substances

But if they change their products for California, they will likely make changes nationwide.

“It is unlikely that they will have one prescription in California and one in Oklahoma.”

He said the five chemicals had been specifically identified because each of them was already banned from food in the EU.

Titanium dioxide is the most prominent of the group.

The supplement was at the center of a 2022 lawsuit filed in the Golden State last year that claimed the popular Skittles candy was unfit for consumption.

The natural powder is used to prevent goods from caking and is often used as a dye.

It has been approved as a supplement by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), although activists want the agency to reconsider the 1966 decision.

Calls for a ban on the additive come amid a growing body of research showing the food’s potential dangers.

A German review of previous studies published in 2015 found that titanium dioxide can accumulate in the blood, kidneys, liver and spleen of humans.

In 2017 French researchers found this build-up can put people at risk for inflammatory bowel disease, immune system damage, and even cancer.

Plaintiffs in the California case claim that Mars, which makes Skittles, is still selling the product despite recognition of the dangers of the supplement in 2016.

The additive was banned from food in the EU last year, with regulators citing the same concerns.

“Why are these toxic chemicals in our food?” Susan Little of the consumer rights organization Environment Working Group said.

“We know they are harmful and that children probably eat more of these chemicals than adults. It makes no sense that the same products that food manufacturers sell in California are sold in the EU without these toxic chemicals.”

The food is also an ingredient in many Campbell’s soups, sauces made by Old El Paso, and other candies and baked goods.

Another targeted additive is Red 3, a food coloring found in many candies and other sweet treats.

Since the early 1980s, studies have shown that the additive can cause cancer in laboratory animals at very high doses and has been linked to behavioral problems in children.

For these reasons, it was banned from cosmetic products in 1990, but remains in many foods and sweets, including baked goods and breakfast cereals.

A pair of 2016 studies found that Red 3 is in more than one in 10 candies in the U.S., and more than 80 percent of children under the age of two have consumed it in the past two weeks.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a consumer advocacy group based in Washington, led a petition to the FDA last year to ban the chemical.

A 2012 study Brazilian researchers found that Red 3 can cause genotoxicity – when DNA suffers toxic damage – and can also cause permanent transmissible changes in strains.

In 2020, the California Environmental Protection Agency found children who regularly used Red 3 were more likely to suffer from hyperactivity and inattention.

A 2016 study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Asheville found that dye was used in 11.1 percent of the candy.

It was also found in 3.3 percent of cakes, 2.6 percent of fruit snacks and 2.6 percent of cakes sold to children.

Brominated vegetable oil is a plant-based substance used to combine the elements of citrus-flavored soft drinks.

Prolonged exposure to the chemical can damage the body’s central nervous system. This has been associated with the development of chronic headaches, memory loss, and impaired balance.

It was previously used in the popular Mountain Dew soda until parent company Pepsi removed the ingredient in 2020.

Sun Drop, a similarly flavored soda made by Keurig Dr Pepper, still uses it.

Many other budget and store brand versions of Mountain Dew and Sprite sold nationwide also use this chemical.

It has been banned as an additive in the EU, India and Japan. Its use in the US is limited to citrus drinks, where it is uniquely able to blend different elements.

Propylparaben is often used in baking as a preservative, as the substance obtained from certain plants and insects has antimicrobial and antifungal properties.

Some highly processed premade baked goods include it. Weight Watchers’ line of supported desserts, aimed at people trying to shed pounds, is one culprit.

The supplement has been linked to fertility problems in mice, and previous studies have shown it can reduce sperm count in males and disrupt estrogen development in females.

Some experts fear that it could do the same damage to the human endocrine system.

Despite this, the FDA still considers propylparaben to be “generally recognized as safe.”

Potassium bromate is also found in many baked goods, including the popular Balducci’s Sugar Cookies.

It is banned in the EU, Canada and Brazil – among others – for its link to the development of thyroid and kidney cancer.

It is often used in processed foods to make dough rise higher.