A lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in northern California claims that Skittles candies, which advertise “taste the rainbow” because of their many colors, contain a “known toxin” called titanium dioxide, rendering them “unfit for human consumption.” Mars Inc., the maker of Skittles, has been sued by a California woman who claims a colorant used in the candies is dangerous and puts people’s brains and DNA at risk.
San Leandro resident Jenile Thames filed a class-action lawsuit against Mars Inc, the confection company that manufactures Skittles, which claimed that people who consume Skittles are at an increased risk of a myriad of health effects stemming from genotoxicity – “the ability of a chemical substance to change DNA.”
Jenile Thames accused Mars of endangering unsuspecting Skittles eaters by using ‘heightened levels’ of titanium dioxide, or TiO2, as a food additive in a proposed class action filed on Thursday in federal court in Oakland, California. The lawsuit emphasized how titanium dioxide will be banned in the European Union beginning next month after a food safety regulator there deemed it unsafe due to ‘genotoxicity,’ or the ability to change DNA.
TiO2, which is used as a colorant in Skittles, is also thought to have the potential to harm vital organs such as the brain if consumed in large enough quantities. It is commonly used on products to provide a white or cloudy background. The European Food Safety Authority declared in 2021 that “titanium dioxide can no longer be considered safe as a food additive.” According to court documents, after France banned titanium dioxide in 2019, Mars stated that it would comply with the regulation.
Thames’ lawsuit claims that Mars “blew smoke” six years ago when it stated that the phase-out was only because “consumers today are calling on food manufacturers to use more natural ingredients in their products.” She claimed that Mars fails to adequately inform Skittles customers of this alleged unsafe additive, either before or at the time of purchase, and that the candies “should otherwise be approached with caution.”
Image Flickr Mike Mozart
