Free Republic

Skittles in the US are no longer being made with titanium dioxide, a colour additive that was banned in the European Union in 2022 over possible health risks. Sweets giant Mars said it had stopped using the ingredient in its US Skittles portfolio at the end of last year. The move follows years of criticism about the presence of titanium dioxide in the candy and comes as US President Donald Trump's elevation of Robert F Kennedy Jr to lead the Department of Health and Human Services has pushed concerns about processed foods to the front of public health debates. Mars...

The FDA today has issued an order today that will ban Red No. 3 from food products and ingested drugs. The dye, which was approved to use in 1907, has been banned in cosmetics and topical drugs since 1990 over evidence that it can cause cancer. Its use in food is already banned or restricted in Australia, Japan and countries in the EU. Red No. 3. is commonly found in candy, gum, and cookies, including Brach’s candy corn, Betty Crocker sprinkles, and strawberry Ensure. Food manufacturers will have until January 15, 2027 to remove it from all products, while makers...

The Food and Drug Administration will decide on a ban of certain food dyes in the coming weeks after receiving a petition to review the safety of Red 3, NBC News reports. “With Red 3, we have a petition in front of us to revoke the authorization board, and we’re hopeful that in the next few weeks we’ll be acting on that petition,” Jim Jones, the deputy commissioner for human foods at the FDA, said during a Senate meeting this week, per NBC. According to the FDA, the agency has reviewed the safety of Red 3 —which is derived from...

Buyer beware.If you walk into a supermarket, convenience store, or other retailer anywhere in America and notice that they have Mountain Dew and Sunny Delight in their refrigerators, and Swedish Fish, Jolly Ranchers, and Twizzlers for sale in the candy aisle, you wouldn’t think anything about it. But if you wandered into a shop in England and saw those same drinks and candies, then there’s a good chance that retailer is about to get a visit from the Trading Standards office. Trading Standards, the local authorities that enforce consumer-protection regulations, have seized thousands of dollars worth of common American candies...