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According to the American daily Los Angeles Times, the Mars group was sued on Thursday July 14, which could threaten the existence of Skittles in the United States, these multicolored fruit candies, which the group distributes. The cause ? The presence of titanium dioxide (or TiO2) in American sweets.
The lawsuit was filed on Thursday July 14 by Jenile Thames, resident of San Leandro (California, USA). It aims to transform the complaint into a class action against the Mars group. While the recipe for colored candies has been adapted in France, this announcement could threaten the existence of Skittles across the Atlantic.
A toxin “known and unsuitable for consumption”
According to ANSES (National Agency for Health and Food Safety), titanium dioxide is used in many applications. In the case of Skittles, titanium dioxide is used in powder form as a food additive: E171. It gives a shiny and colorful appearance to candies.
According to the plaintiffs, titanium dioxide is a “known toxin” and “unfit for human consumption”. But, it turns out that this toxin no longer appears in the list of ingredients of Skittles of certain countries, in particular France. This decision results from a decree of 2020, which prohibits the use of the food additive.
The reality is quite different in the United States, and this is what the plaintiffs point out, who argue that “US consumers are unaware of the health risks associated with this artificial food coloring”Write the Los Angeles Times. Titanium dioxide was approved for human consumption in the United States in 1966.
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What are the risks of consuming titanium dioxide as an additive?
In 2016, the Mars group promised to phase out titanium dioxide, while stating that it “presented no known health risk”.
In May 2021, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that there was enough research to show that titanium dioxide was bad for your health when used as a food additive.
According to the EFSA, titanium dioxide particles pose a problem of genotoxicity, that is, they possess a substance that has the ability to damage a person’s DNA, possibly causing cancer. After ingesting the ingredient, the absorption of titanium dioxide particles is low, but they can nevertheless accumulate in the body, the EFSA explained.
In response to the legal attack, the Mars Group said their use of titanium dioxide in Skittles was “compliant with regulations” from the FDA, the US Food and Drug Administration.