Today we’ll learn that sometimes even injustice can be sweet in this candy-coated Facepalm.
We’re shining the spotlight on Willy Wonka’s dark secret (and it has nothing to do with his treatment of Ooompa Loompas)—all that candy you’ve been inhaling for years is toxic! Well, according to the state of California it’s toxic, and therefore it might get banned. Now, you should always take everything California says is toxic with a grain of salt, since it’s world-renowned alarm-bell of overreaction, Prop 65, requires labels on anything that contains practically any chemical element whatsoever—from Christmas trees to Disneyland. So when I hear that my beloved favorites like Skittles, Hot Tamales, Peeps, and candy corn are potentially being banned due to the presence of food dye, I get suspicious. But, according to a new bill, Cali may be putting a kibosh on the candy because of “dangerous additives and toxic chemicals” like titanium dioxide and Red Dye No. 3. The bill, titled AB 418, would ban the manufacture and sale of any food products containing these and several other common additives. Everyday staples like Sour Patch Kids and Nerds shall be deemed by the powers-that-be as “unfit for human consumption” and ousted from the Golden State’s shelves.
But not without a fight. The National Confectioners Association, a.k.a. the candy lobby, a.k.a. Big Chocolate, a.k.a. the Jelly Bean Mafia, is challenging the bill, claiming there is no harm in eating the colorful concoctions, and the science behind the ban is bogus. For example, a 1983 study of found that rats who ingested a diet of up to ten percent red dye had decreased reproductive success and lower brain weight. But, FYI, humans are not rats, and unless you are me, your diet is likely balanced enough that it doesn’t consist of those astronomical amounts of additives. Likewise, a study of blue dye showed that it gets into the brain, but it didn’t find it did any harm. So, all I’m hearing is that thanks to the candy industry my brain is now a lovely shade of aquamarine, but otherwise just peachy. Other studies have linked Red Dye No. 3 with hyperactivity in kids. Apparently, if you give your kids a bunch of Skittles and Mountain Dew Code Red, they become hyperactive. Who knew? As an aside, Red Dye No. 3 is listed as an “inactive ingredient” on the popular ADHD medication Vyvanse, since it’s the dye used in the gelatin capsule. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but….
Personally, I’m a bit skeptical about the state of California limiting my freedom of food choice when clearly I understand the common sense health risks of eating over-processed foods. It’s not like the presence of artificial colors in Skittles was some big secret. The Mars Corporation, manufacturer of Skittles, is literally inviting us to “taste the rainbow,” and no natural rainbow I’ve ever seen contains any of those radioactive hues. There has got to be a level of “eat at your own risk” release of liability when you are intentionally swallowing fistfuls of sugar the color of glow-in-the-dark aquarium gravel, right?
I’m so glad I don’t live in California or I’d starve to death without my precious Hot Tamales. Heaven forbid, I might have to eat a vegetable. Facepalm achieved.