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California could ban Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and other snacks in schools under new bill
Snacks such as Flamin’ Hot Cheetos may soon be banned in California schools. A bill proposed in the state assembly seeks remove foods from schools that contain artificial ingredients like red 40, blue 1 and titanium dioxide. Many child-focused foods like chips and cereals contain these ingredients.
Cheetos varieties, including the popular and spicy Flamin’ Hot version, and other chips such as Doritos include colorings red 40, yellow 5 and yellow 6 – all on the list of ingredients that would be banned if the bill is enacted. Cereals like Froot Loops and Fruity Pebbles also include these yellow and red dyes as well as blue 1. Candies like Jolly Ranchers also contain these ingredients.
Some soups, mac and cheese brands and other foods can contain titanium dioxide, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which has long advocated for the banning of foods with the substance and synthetic dyes.
In existing California law, the state’s education department must uphold nutritional guidelines when serving food on campus. Free lunch and breakfast is available to all all students kindergarten through 12th grade in the state.
The current rules state foods given to students must be a fruit, vegetable, dairy, protein or whole grain item. The rules also set standards for calories, sugars and fats in these foods.
Democratic California Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel wants to amend the rules so that all schools – public, charter or a state special school – cannot sell or provide foods with blue 1, blue 2, green 3, red 40, titanium dioxide, yellow 5 and yellow 6.
In a social media post announcing the bill, Gabriel said these chemicals are “linked to serious health concerns including DNA damage, cancer, hyperactivity, and neurobehavioral issues from food served to students.”
A 2012 study by the National Institutes of Health found red 3 causes cancer in animals and red 40, yellow 5 and yellow 6 have been found to be contaminated with carcinogens like benzidine, which can increase risk of developing cancer.
Blue 1, red 40, yellow 5 and yellow 6 cause hypersensitivity reactions – an exaggerated immune response to allergens – and rodent studies of yellow 5 were positive for genotoxicity, which cause cell mutations that could lead to cancer, according to NIH.
NIH recommended that since these dyes don’t improve nutrition of foods, they should be removed. They said, however, more toxicity testing is required.
The Food and Drug Administration approves the use of dyes in foods and requires evidence that a color additive is safe before being added to products. It also requires manufactures to include on product labels which of these ingredients are used.
The administration has sent out warning letters when dye usages were not disclosed – like when yellow 6 in dehydrated papaya or blue 1 in noodle products were undeclared. They have a list of products have have received warnings for not declaring use of these ingredients.
The FDA says they cannot be absolutely certain of the risk of these ingredients due to limits in sciene. “Therefore, the FDA must determine – based on the best science available º if there is a reasonable certainty of no harm to consumers when a color additive is used as proposed,” the administration says. “The FDA does not approve the use of a color additive that is found to induce cancer in people or animals.”
The FDA looks at several factors when considering these ingredients, including the amount that would typically be consumed and the immediate and long term effects.
In 2023, California became the first state to ban four food additives – red dye no. 3, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil and propyl paraben – according to CBS San Francisco.
These additives are used in foods like Peeps, the sugar-coated marshmallow treats typical sold at Easter. An original version of that bill included titanium dioxide, which is found in Skittles, but it was amended in the Senate and taken out of the legislation.
The European Union has banned several food additives that are allowed in the U.S., including titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, azodicarbonamide and propylparaben.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.