After California Bans Red #3, Is Michigan’s Halloween Going To Be Without Skittles?
One of the greatest candies of all time and no doubt, one of the factors that has led to so many of my well-deserved cavities in my life is Skittles. These little bite-sized sugary morsels were the source of so much energy back when I worked in restaurants. While some people relied on nose candy to get them through the day, all I needed to do was taste the rainbow to get me through.
But the flavor rainbow was the recent focus of a law that was passed in California when they decided to ban the use of the dye Red #3. California Food Safety Act actually banned the use of potassium bromate, propylparaben, potassium bromate, and red dye no. 3 which they say shows adverse health effects on those who consume them:
Last Saturday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill banning the manufacture, distribution or sale of foods containing harmful ingredients such as red dye No. 3. The law is the first of its kind in the U.S. However, many of the ingredients affected have already been banned internationally, including by the European Union, according to California Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat who backed the legislation.
Okay, But What About My Skittles?
So with this ban on Red #3, is this the product that's in Skittles, and is it possible Michigan could lose one of its most popular candies for Halloween? Luckily for us, I think Skittles has already done away with Red #3 in their products as California Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel commented, which may save them from the chopping block:
This particular bag of candy comes from the European Union -- a place that already bans a number of chemical additives and colorants. I love Skittles. I eat them all the time. There’s a 0% chance that this is actually going to result in a ban of Skittles.
If someone can invent an affordable alternative to these I'm all about it, but we can't let the government take the last shred of hope for this world away. First, they come for your Skittles, then your guns, then ALL of your liberties. I've seen it before...