The California Assembly has passed a first-in-the-nation bill banning the use of five food additives, including Red Dye No. 3 and titanium dioxide, in food products manufactured, sold or distributed in the state.

The Assembly gave its approval to Assembly Bill 418, which seeks to end the use of brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propyl paraben, Red Dye No. 3 and titanium dioxide. 

Assembly member Jesse Gabriel (D-Woodland Hills), chair of the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection, introduced the bill. He said in a statement that the vote “is a major step forward in our effort to protect children and families in California from dangerous and toxic chemicals in our food supply.”

“It’s unacceptable that the U.S. is so far behind the rest of the world when it comes to banning these dangerous additives,” he said. “We don’t love our children any less than they do in Europe, and it’s not too much to ask food and beverage manufacturers to switch to the safer alternative ingredients that they already use in Europe and so many other nations around the globe.”