The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)Synthetic food dyes are not necessary in foods and provide no nutritional or health benefit.
(b)Synthetic food dyes trigger hyperactivity and other behavioral problems in some children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or other behavioral disorders, and may also trigger these behaviors in other children without those disorders.
(c)The removal of food dyes from the diet reduces symptoms in affected children.
(d)The exposure to, and consumption of, synthetic food
dyes is increasing, with per capita production of artificial colorings approved for use in food having increased more than five-fold since 1955.
(e)A meal, or even an individual serving, can contain upwards of 26 mg of dyes, a dose used in many studies and found to trigger adverse behaviors.
(f)The formulation and advertising of processed foods have used dyes to attract children to notice, request, and consume these products, and that has resulted in increased consumption of synthetic food dyes in recent decades.
(g)An estimated 38,600 children in California may be adversely affected by synthetic food dyes.
(h)The costs associated with the hyperactivity triggered by food dyes in California children with ADHD could be as high as $560 million to $820
million annually.
(i)The behavioral effects of synthetic dyes on children may impair their academic success and interfere with the ability of their classmates to learn.
(j)Foods containing synthetic food dyes are heavily marketed to children, with one study finding that more than 90 percent of child-oriented candies, fruit-flavored snacks, and drink mixes contained dyes.
(k)Warning labels improve consumers’ understanding of health harms associated with some food ingredients and may reduce the likelihood of consumers purchasing products with those harmful ingredients.
(l)Because synthetic food dyes are used in a variety of foods, and because dyed foods are heavily marketed to children, better labeling and restrictions on the sale and distribution of
those products are necessary.
(m)It is in the public interest for California’s Legislature to enact legislation that mandates warning labels and a stepwise ban on food containing synthetic food dyes. The benefits to Californians from enacting such legislation would be significant in societal and economic terms.
(n)The State Department of Public Health has the authority to prescribe conditions under which a color additive may be used in California whether or not those conditions are identical to regulations under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
(o)The Food and Drug Branch of the State Department of Public Health must protect and improve the health of all California residents by ensuring that food is safe. In connection with its duty to protect and promote the health of Californians, the State Department
of Public Health routinely makes decisions about whether and how products may be sold and marketed in the state.