Four chemicals commonly added to food and linked to health problems have been banned in California, the first state to do so.
Although Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature on the bill only bans the additives in his state, it’s possible the chemicals could be removed from products across the country, NBC News reports.
The chemicals are red dye No. 3, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil and propyl paraben. All four are currently approved by the US Food and DrugAdministration, but are illegal in the European Union and several othercountries,NBCNewsreported.
“The additives addressed in this bill are already banned in several other countries,” Newsom said in a statement. “Signing this bill into law is a positive step forward on these four food additives until the United States Food and Drug Administration [FDA] reviews and establishes national updated safety levels for these additives.”
Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel co-sponsored the bill with Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks.
Gabriel said that the law won’t eliminate the foods that these additives are typically found in – everything from orange soda to hamburger buns and candy – but that manufacturers will have to make “really minor” changes to the ingredients.
“We have incredible confidence that consumers will still be able to enjoy all the products that we know and love here in the United States, just without these harmful chemicals,” Gabriel told NBC News.
The law will take effect in 2027, NBC News reported.
This will give brands time to revise recipes and “establish nationally updated safety levels for these additives” until the FDA makes changes, Newsom said.
“The state is stepping up to protect people,” Gabriel said.
Manufacturers are likely to replace these ingredients in up to 12,000 products nationwide, according to the Environmental Working Group, a health research and advocacy organization, NBC News reported.