Don't Eat Skittles

[Nancy OShea]

A California lawsuit contends that Mars candy company is knowingly using a "known toxin" to color their fruit flavored Skittles candies.  The lawsuit further claims that Skittles are "unfit for human consumption" 

Source: LA Times, (Mark Lennihan / Associated Press)

The additive is titanium dioxide— the 9th most common element in the Earth's crust.  It's a metal that's typically used in paint pigments, inks, dyes, adhesives, textiles, topical sunscreens, soaps, cosmetics and other products.  Titanium dioxide or Ti02 is listed as an active ingredient in Skittles sold in the United States.  But the additive has been removed from the candy's recipe in several European nations and banned in several other countries. 

In 2016, Mars Inc. promised to phase out titanium dioxide and said that artificial colors like TiO2 "pose no known risks to human health or safety."   But The European Food Safety Authority concluded there was enough research to indicate that titanium dioxide was not safe as a food additive.  The group said Ti02 posed concern for genotoxicity or damage to a person's DNA and possibly leading to cancer.

Skittles 👎 👎

STARBURST Chews 👍 👍

[PaintedKitty]

Not really that new. 🤔In the past I have seen little warnings on sugarless gum packets from the US. I remember they would have warning similar like this. " The chemicals used in this gum may cause cancer. But I haven't been in the US for years. Over all not surprising to see another company using sneaky tactics. I guess so long as they could do it there was no reason to change the ingredients. But now thankfully the kitty is out of the bag.

I still like the name Skittles for a cat. 😊😺

[Henrik Heigl]

Hi,

I'm not sure where those news sources came from, but I think those issues often not exist very long. Have fun.

[Nancy OShea]

Hi,

I'm not sure where those news sources came from...

By @Henrik Heigl

=========

It's from a California Lawsuit, as reported in the Los Angeles Times.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-18/skittles-unfit-for-human-consumption-lawsuit-cla...

[Leslie Moak Murray]

I only heard about this earlier this year. It'sa miracle I'm sill alive!

[rayek.elfin]

And people are surprised by this 'news'? It's been known for decades that all major candy brands with links to the large food corps (such as Unilever) have absolutely dreadful additives added to them.

Skittles are the least of your problems... Titanium Dioxide is used as a whitener in many food products. Its E number is E171, and it is known to contain nano-particles which damage the intestinal lining and are a known cause of intestinal cancer. (note that nano-particles by themselves are not inherently harmful --Silicium Dioxide isn't a problem and contains nano-particles as well-- but E171 is an foreign-body substance, and happens to be quite harmful indeed.)

In 2022 Titanium Dioxide was banned in Europe for use in food products.

The problem, however, is that Titanium Dioxide is an additive used in tens of thousands of medicinal drugs for its whitening properties. And it also includes the majority (if not all) 'popular' toothpastes that are widely advertised on television (don't forget that part of the underside of your tongue (the oral mucosa) is extremely thin and ideal for quickly introducing certain medications into the cardiovascular system (bypassing the gastrointestinal tract). And also ideal for nano-particles such as Titanium Dioxide to enter the bloodstream and cause harm in your body.

It is notable that E171 is banned from food products only in Europe -- originally it was supposed to be banned in medicinal drugs as well, but I assume the pharmaceutical lobby was too 'convincing' in their argument that 90% (if not more) of all drugs' recipes would have to be changed (and that would be rather detrimental for their shareholder's bottom line I presume).

Most research (done by independent parties and governments) on E171 seems to indicate it is foul stuff indeed, and should be avoided. I have known this for a long time and avoided it. The news and governments tend to lag behind by at least a decade or two, or so.

(PS it is a general rule of good health to avoid any processed food and medication that is advertised on prime-time TV )

[Nancy OShea]

When I was a kid, the big bad boogie man in food was Red Food Dye #2.  It was banned nationwide and anyone who still used it in food immediately took it off the shelves.  This was no hardship for them because beet juice achieved the same result when combined with a little FD&C Yellow #5 (Tartrazine).

Anyway, Mars candy company thought it best to remove red colored candies from their popular M&Ms brand even though they didn't use Red Food Dye #2 -- an action that resulted in the whole  "don't eat red M&Ms" trend.   It's an interesting story about which you can read below.

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-science-science-everywhere-you-asked/why-were-red-mms-elimi...

[Nancy OShea]

California Governor Gavin Newsom bans four harmful chemicals in food including Red Food Dye No 3.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-becomes-first-state-ban-four-chemicals-food-red-dye-...

The other banned food additives are potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil and propylparaben.