Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, M&Ms and other items made with artificial food dyes will be banned from California’s public schools, charter schools and the state’s special schools under a bill signed into law Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Assembly Bill 2316, which will take effect on December 31, 2027, spells the end of snack foods that contain dyes known as blue 1, blue 2, green 3, red 40, yellow 5 and yellow 6. All are common industry staples that can give foods unusually bright colors in an attempt to it’s even more attractive.
“Our health is inextricably tied to the food we eat,” Newsom said in a statement. “Today, we refuse to accept the status quo, and make it possible for everyone, including school children, to have access to nutritious, delicious food that is free of dangerous and often addictive additives.”
The chemicals have been linked to developmental and behavioral harm in children, according to the bill’s authors, who cited a 2021 report from the California Environmental Protection Agency. They expressed their hope that this new law would have negative effects beyond the Golden State.
“California has once again led the nation when it comes to protecting our children from harmful chemicals that can harm their bodies and impair their ability to learn,” said Assembly member Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), who introduced the legislation.
The new law “sends a strong message to manufacturers to stop using these dangerous additives,” he added in a statement.
Flamin’ Hot Cheetos contain three of the six recently banned chemicals: red 40, yellow 5 and yellow 6. The M&Ms ingredient list includes those three dyes as well as blue 1 and blue 2.
Other foods that may disappear from cafeterias and school vending machines as a result of the law include Cheetos, Doritos, sports drinks and sugary breakfast cereals such as Froot Loops and Cap’n Crunch.
For Gabriel, the bill is personal. He told The Times in March that he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as a child. Her son also has a neurodevelopmental disorder.
Last year, Newsom signed the nation’s first ban on food additives found in popular cereals, candy, sodas and drinks, including brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and red dye No. 3. That law will come into force on Jan. . 1, 2027, and impose fines of up to $10,000 for violations.
California lawmakers hope the ban will encourage manufacturers to change their recipes.
AB 2316 faced opposition from the American Beverage Assn., California Chamber of Commerce and the National Confectioners Assn.
These groups say that dietary supplements should be regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration, not tested on a federal basis.
But how and when the FDA will act on the issue remains to be seen, said Melanie Benesh, vice president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, which co-sponsored the legislation.
“The FDA should also take action on these dyes, but that’s no reason to wait to make sure California children are safe,” Benesh said after the bill passed the Legislature.
“There are many other uses for these chemicals,” Benesh said. “I think it’s up to the industries to find a way to renew and sell their food without using chemicals that could harm our children.”
In addition to the ban on food dyes, Newsom also signed a bill that aims to standardize information about expiration dates on food products. AB 660 is designed to provide consumers with clearer and more consistent information about the freshness of their food in hopes of reducing food waste.
“Wondering if our food is still good is an issue we’ve all faced,” said the bill’s author, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks), in a statement. The passage of the bill is “a big step to keep money in consumers’ pockets while helping the environment and the planet.”
Erica Parker, a policy consultant with Californians Against Waste, which sponsored the bill, said the law will eliminate the confusion consumers face when checking products with the words “sell by,” “expires on” or “just started” printed on their packaging.
The result of that confusion is “a huge amount of food wastage. Californians throw away 6 million tons of food waste each year — and confusion over date labels is a leading cause,” he said in a statement when the bill was sent to Newsom’s desk.
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