Toxic candy! It seems like a headline straight out of a movie, or at least a bad tabloid. And yet a California man is suing the manufacturers of Skittles, claiming that they contain a chemical that is unfit for human consumption. Brendan Preisman has more.
THE OFFICIAL SLOGAN OF SKITTLES IS “TASTE THE RAINBOW”. BUT THAT MAY NOT BE THE ONLY THING THAT CONSUMERS OF THE POPULAR MULTICOLORED CANDY ARE TASTING. AT LEAST, THAT’S WHAT A CALIFORNIA MAN IS CLAIMING IN A LAWSUIT AGAINST MARS, THE MANUFACTURER OF SKITTLES. JENILE THAMES CLAIMS IN HIS LAWSUIT THAT SKITTLES CONTAIN A “KNOWN TOXIN” THAT IS “UNFIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION“. THE INGREDIENT THAMES’ LAWSUIT FOCUSES ON IS TITANIUM DIOXIDE, WHICH IS CURRENTLY LEGAL IN THE UNITED STATES AND IS USED TO ADD COLOR TO SKITTLES. WHILE MARS CLAIMS THAT TITANIUM DIOXIDE IS COMMON AND USED IN “MANY INDUSTRIES AND IN EVERYDAY PRODUCTS”, NOT EVERYONE AGREES WITH THEM.
THE EUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY REPORTED IN 2021 THAT TITANIUM DIOXIDE “COULD NO LONGER BE CONSIDERED SAFE” AS A FOOD ADDITIVE, SAYING THAT THE CHEMICAL MAY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE DAMAGE TO DNA. THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOLLOWED UP THIS REPORT BY BANNING THE USE OF THE CHEMICAL AS A FOOD ADDITIVE IN AUGUST OF THIS YEAR, MOST LIKELY BECAUSE OF WORRIES ABOUT BUILDUP IN THE BODY. SOME INTERNATIONAL NONPROFITS HAVE EVEN BEGUN PREPARING A PETITION-WHICH WOULD SERVE AS A LEGAL WAY OF ASKING THE AMERICAN FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION TO REVIEW THE SAFETY OF TITANIUM DIOXIDE AS A FOOD ADDITIVE.
THE FDA HAS NOT YET BANNED THE CHEMICAL MOSTLY BECAUSE THERE ARE SEVERAL CONDITIONS THAT MUST BE MET BEFORE THE CHEMICAL CAN BE PLACED IN FOOD IN THE FIRST PLACE, THE BIGGEST REQUIREMENT BEING THAT THE AMOUNT OF TITANIUM DIOXIDE CANNOT EXCEED 1% OF THE FOOD’S WEIGHT. IT IS CURRENTLY USED IN MANY FOODS, INCLUDING CHEWING GUM, BAKED GOODS, SALAD DRESSING, DAIRY PRODUCTS AND MORE. WHILE THE EUROPEAN UNION HAS BANNED THE USE OF TITANIUM DIOXIDE IN FOOD FOR THE REASONS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, NEITHER GREAT BRITAIN NOR CANADA HAVE BANNED THE CHEMICAL IN FOOD.
WHILE THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL STUDIES DONE ON THE CHEMICAL, THE RESEARCH IS INCONCLUSIVE ON WHETHER OR NOT CONSUMPTION OF TITANIUM DIOXIDE SHOULD BE LIMITED. MARS DID PROMISE TO BEGIN PHASING OUT THE CHEMICAL IN 2016, BUT JUDGING BY THE LAWSUIT, THEY HAVEN’T DONE A VERY GOOD JOB. SKITTLES COULD STILL BE MADE WITHOUT TITANIUM DIOXIDE, BUT OTHER CANDIES SUCH AS STARBURSTS CONTAIN THE CHEMICAL AS WELL.
PERHAPS ONE OF THE BIGGEST REASONS MARS HAS NOT YET TAKEN CONCRETE ACTION IS THAT IT’S STILL UNCLEAR IF CONCRETE ACTION IS NEEDED. THERE HAVE NOT YET BEEN STUDIES ON TITANIUM DIOXIDE’S EFFECTS ON HUMANS DUE TO ETHICAL CONCERNS, AND EVEN THE STUDIES THAT HAVE INVOLVED HUMANS HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GIVE DEFINITE ANSWERS. THE OFFICIAL POISON CONTROL WEBSITE DOES NOTE THAT IN A STUDY OF NINE VOLUNTEERS, “NO ADVERSE EFFECTS WERE NOTED IN ANY OF THE STUDY SUBJECTS” AND THAT “VERY LITTLE TITANIUM DIOXIDE WAS ABSORBED”. THE WEBSITE ALSO STATES THAT MOST CONSUMED TITANIUM DIOXIDE WILL END UP “EXCRETED THROUGH THE FECES”. SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT TITANIUM DIOXIDE?
ASIDE FROM FOOD ITEMS, IT’S ALSO USED IN MANY COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND PERSONAL CARE ITEMS, WHICH INCLUDE MAKEUP, SUNSCREEN, TOOTHPASTE, PAINT, AND PAPER. IT CAN ENHANCE THE COLOR WHITE, WHICH EXPLAINS WHY IT IS SO COMMON IN PRODUCTS LIKE COFFEE CREAMER. ONE THING THAT SOME EXPERTS WANT PEOPLE TO BE AWARE OF IS THE FACT THAT THE EUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY DID NOT EXPLICITLY SAY THAT TITANIUM DIOXIDE WILL DAMAGE DNA, BUT THAT THE GROUP COULD NOT RULE OUT THE POSSIBILITY OF DNA DAMAGE. OTHERS HAVE ALSO POINTED OUT THAT MOST CATEGORIZATIONS OF TITANIUM DIOXIDE AS TOXIC RELY ON ANIMAL STUDIES IN WHICH RATS WERE GIVEN VERY HIGH DOSES OF TITANIUM DIOXIDE.
PERHAPS THE BEST WAY TO GO ABOUT STAYING HEALTHY AND SAFE IN REGARDS TO TITANIUM DIOXIDE IS THE SAME WAY TO STAY SAFE WITH OTHER FOOD ITEMS: MODERATION. EVEN WITHOUT THE CHEMICAL, SKITTLES WOULD STILL CONTAIN PLENTY OF SUGAR AND ARTIFICIAL COLORS AND WOULD BE NOWHERE CLOSE TO HEALTHY. DR. TAYLOR WALLACE SAID IN AN INTERVIEW WITH VERYWELLHEALTH.COM THAT “EVERYTHING IS TOXIC; THE DOSE IS WHAT MATTERS”.
SO IN THE END, SKITTLES MAY NOT BE PROBLEMATIC AT ALL AND THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH THEM-ONE I CERTAINLY HAVE-IS EATING TOO MUCH.
FOR WNUR NEWS, I’M BRENDAN PREISMAN.
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