By COLE LONGCOR
& ALEX ABBEDUTO
Capitol News Illinois
news@capitolnewsillinois.com
A bill in the Illinois General Assembly would ban five food additives in the state by 2027.
Senate Bill 2637, sponsored by Chicago Democrat Willie Preston, would ban companies from using certain products in food, including brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and Red Dye 3. Preston said titanium dioxide, a food coloring agent, will be added to the ban in a future amendment.
California passed a similar ban last year which will take effect in 2027. The European Union has already banned these additives. In 2021 the European Food Safety Authority cited concerns that ingesting titanium dioxide could potentially have damaging effects on a person’s DNA. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a part of the World Health Organization, categorizes potassium bromate and titanium dioxide as possibly carcinogenic to humans.
“We in the state of Illinois will not allow these food additives that are putting … our children at stake to remain in the food supply,” Preston said during the news conference at the Health Lifestyle Hub in Chicago.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias also backed the bill. He said some of the health concerns stemming from ingestion of the substances include hyperactivity, nervous system damage, reproductive and hormonal issues, and an elevated risk of cancer.
“I can tell you with certainty what this bill does not do: It does not ban any products or brands. It does not take food off shelves,” Giannoulias said on Tuesday. “It will, however, encourage food manufacturers to update recipes using safer alternative ingredients that are already widely available and consumed in other places around the world.”
