FORBIDDEN FROOT

California Bans Froot Loops, M&Ms and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos From School Cafeterias

The maker of Peeps marshmallow candies has already changed their formula in advance of a new law that bans several synthetic food dies from California public school cafeterias.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law Saturday that will ban six popular synthetic food dyes from the state’s public schools, meaning potentially no more Fruit Loops, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, M&Ms, Doritos, and Cap’n Crunch. The blue, green, yellow, and red additives banned—known as blue 1, blue 2, green 3, red 40, yellow 5, and yellow 6—were previously linked to developmental and behavioral issues in children by the California Environmental Protection Agency. Food manufacturers have a grace period to potentially figure out a new way to make Flamin’ Hot Cheetos stay neon red or Fruit Loops maintain their bright melange of breakfast colors—the law is effective from December 31, 2027. The manufacturer of Peeps marshmallow candies has already changed their formula in advance of the law. Food industry lobbyists managed to get titanium dioxide taken out of the bill—while banned in the EU, it can be found in everything from candy to frozen pizza to soups to jello mix, where it's used for pigmentation.