Doritos, Mountain Dew and Cheetos and other colorful snacks will be banned from California schools over common ingredient
Some of the most popular lunchroom snacks of your childhood are set to be banned from California lunch rooms — or become a lot less colorful.These include the likes of Doritos, Mountain Dew, M&Ms, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Fruit Loops, Gatorade, Kool-Aid, Starburst, Skittles and more.
It comes after Gov.Gavin Newsom signed the California School Food Safety Act outlaws a variety of artificial color additives which critics say have been linked to developmental and behavior problems in kids.
They are approved from human consumption by the Food and Drug Administration.The law puts food manufacturers on notice that they have until the end of 2027 to purge the offending ingredients from their products, which include dyes like Red 40, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 2, Blue 1 and Green 3.
Those who fail to comply risk their foods being banned from public school vending machines and cafeterias in more than 12,000 Golden State schools.“Today, we are refusing to accept the status quo, and making it possible for everyone, including school kids, to access nutritious, delicious food without harmful, and often addictive additives,” Newsom said lauding the legislation.“By giving every child a healthy start, we can set them on the path to a future with less risk of obesity and chronic illness.”Manufacturers have been instructed to swap out the artificial dyes with natural ingredients like beet or carrot juice, which the European versions of the products have already started doing.State Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel — who authored the act — said the law will “empower schools to better protect the health and wellbeing of students, and sends a strong message to manufacturers to stop using these harmful additives.”However, those in the food industry were decidedly less enthusiastic.The International Food Additives Council said in a statement that the legislation is “misguided” and “increases costs and complexity, ultimately affecting the population that needs nutrition...