/>i- This past weekend California governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 418 into law. This bill will prohibit the use of brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and Red No. 3 in food manufactured, sold, delivered, distributed, held, or offered for sale in California after January 1, 2027.
- A previous version of this bill would have also banned titanium dioxide, but that was dropped for lack of support. FDA has received a petition by non-profit advocacy groups seeking to revoke the clearances for titanium dioxide in food, but the agency has also recently reaffirmed that it continues to view the use of titanium dioxide in foods as safe.
- The safety of the remaining four food additives included in AB 418 has been questioned, and they are not permitted in some parts of the world; indeed, FDA terminated the provisional listings of Red No. 3 for use in cosmetics and externally applied drugs and for all uses of the lakes of Red No. 3 in 1990, but never revoked the permanent clearances for the use of the straight dye, Red No. 3, in food (21 CFR 74.303) or its use in ingested drug products (21 CFR 74.1303). Nevertheless, the bill raises serious questions about the ability of a state to ban food additives with federal regulatory clearances (i.e., preemption issues).
- We will continue to monitor and report on AB 418 and developments regarding state regulation of food additives.
CA Governor Newsom Signs Food Additive Ban into Law
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
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