• No, Governor Gruesome hasn’t banned Skittles in Cali.
• But he’s taken steps to remove the poisons from CA’s food.
• This mirrors the European way of regulating foodstuffs.

Good morning from autumnal Asti.

As I was chomping on my salami panini and drinking my caffé Americano at Fabrizio’s this morning, I was once again grateful for the cuisine in this country.

When I returned to my apartment to start writing this Rude, I checked Google Trends to see how hot the Palestinian situation was.

Truth be told, it didn’t even register in the Top 10 of searches.

But something about a “Skittles ban” did. What was Governor Gruesome up to now?

As a man with extra flesh around his waist, I usually avoid writing about health. But this time, I’ve got some insight to share.

Hong Kong, 2015

Pam and I moved to Tung Chung, a town on Lantau Island, just next to the airport, when we settled in Hong Kong in mid-2015.

Click here for Google Maps to see it more clearly.

The commute to work in Kowloon was easy, and all the amenities we needed were right in our apartment complex.

Our supermarket was in the basement of our building, making it easy to get all the food upstairs. One day, while shopping, I noticed two different Heinz Ketchup bottles.

From living in London for nearly a decade, I knew the US and EU had different food safety policies. But I never really looked any deeper.

Here is the back of the US Heinz Ketchup container:

Credit: reddit.com

Here’s the UK version:

Credit: heinz.co.uk

Here’s Italy’s version:

Credit: heinz.it

It’s the same as the UK recipe.

Notice the difference between the European versions and the US version?

There’s no high fructose corn syrup in the European versions.

I noticed that in Hong Kong and wondered to myself, “Why do Americans allow that?”

I still don’t have a satisfactory answer.

The “Skittles Ban”

From Forbes:

SURPRISING FACT

Though the law will not ban Skittles, claims California has outlawed the candy are running rampant on social media. A post on X from Daily Loud, a pop culture updates account with 2.5 million followers, falsely stated, “California will officially ban Skittles and other candies from the state starting 2027.” The misinformed post was liked more than 68,000 times and viewed more than 15 million times. Actor and television host Mario Lopez reposted a false claim that the state will ban Skittles, stating: “Crime is through the roof, worst drug epidemic ever & homelessness at an all-time high in CA… Let’s focus on Skittles.” A YouTube video by right-wing personality The Quartering, viewed 50,000 times, falsely stated Skittles was banned by California’s “woke leaders.”

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“There’s a zero percent chance this is actually going to result in a ban on Skittles,” California state Rep. Jesse Gabriel, who introduced the bill, said. “All we want the companies to do is switch their recipes in the same way that they've done in Europe, and Canada and the U.K. and Brazil and other countries that have banned these chemicals.”

The libertarian in me wants to tell Gavin Newsome to piss off. But the pragmatist in me thinks selling ingestible poison to people should result in a prison sentence.

But this is what happens when people aren't educated about the food they eat. I’d prefer American consumers to tell these companies to either change their recipes, or they’ll take their business elsewhere.

Ask a kid if he wants any food with harmful ingredients, and he’d say, “Ewwww… I don’t want to die!”

Children are far smarter than adults in this regard.

Californian companies affected have until 2027 to change their recipes.

What Else Are Americans Ingesting?

Piquing my curiosity, I asked Bard, Google’s AI program, “What else, besides high fructose corn syrup, was banned in Europe but available in the US?”

Here’s what it came up with:

1. Titanium dioxide (E171): Banned as a possible carcinogen. (This ingredient would have banned Skittles in their present form.)

2. Potassium bromate (E924): Banned as a possible carcinogen.

3. Azodicarbonamide (E927a): Banned as a possible asthma trigger.

4. Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT): Banned as possible endocrine disruptors.

5. Brominated vegetable oil (BVO): Banned as a possible carcinogen.

6. Recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH): Banned due to concerns about its impact on animal welfare and human health.

7. Red dye #40 (also known as Allura Red AC): Banned as a possible carcinogen and hyperactivity trigger.

8. Yellow dye #5 (also known as Tartrazine): Banned as a possible carcinogen and asthma trigger.

9. Yellow dye #6 (Sunset Yellow FCF): Banned as a possible carcinogen and asthma trigger.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) isn’t banned in Europe but is subject to stricter regulations than in the US. For example, it isn’t allowed in baby food or infant formula in the EU.

There are also concerns that HFCS may contribute to obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases.

One of the main concerns about HFCS is its high fructose content. The muscles do not metabolize fructose, which is more likely to be stored as fat in the liver.

I’m neither a chemist nor a nutritionist, but I’m glad the EU has chosen a precautionary route. That is, they ban first and ask questions later.

The US is far too trusting, especially considering it’s the ninth most obese country in the world and first among developed economies.

Wrap Up

While there’s plenty to complain about Governor Gruesome’s tenure as Cali governor, this isn’t one of those things.

I hope Americans start reading the back of their food containers and make better judgments about what they put in their bodies.

Until then, the government will step in not because it loves its citizens but because it’s trying to minimize its socialized healthcare costs.

Have a great day!