New Lawsuit Claims That Skittles Are ‘Unfit For Human Consumption’

It’s commonly known that candy is not health food. Most candy contains a lot of sugar, and some candy contains added chemicals. Many people consider candy an okay treat once in awhile, but most people do not think of candy containing potentially dangerous chemicals.

According to a class-action lawsuit filed in California, if you “taste the rainbow” you’re actually consuming a food additive called titanium dioxide. The lawsuit claims that titanium dioxide is a “known toxin” and is “unfit for human consumption.”

The lawsuit was filed by San Leandro, California, resident Jenile Thames against Mars, Inc, the parent company of Skittles. The lawsuit claims that people who consume Skittles “are at heightened risk of a host of health effects for which they were unaware stemming from genotoxicity – the ability of a chemical substance to change DNA”.

According to Thames, Skittles still contains titanium dioxide even though Mars, Inc., knows that it is potentially dangerous to consume. In addition, the lawsuit states, “Incredibly, Defendant even claimed that ‘[a]rtificial colors pose no known risks to human health or safety. In doing so, Defendant concealed from consumers material information it knew.”

The European Food Safety Authority considers titanium dioxide unsafe to be used as a food additive. The EFSA states, “A critical element in reaching this conclusion is that we could not exclude genotoxicity concerns after consumption of titanium dioxide particles. After oral ingestion, the absorption of titanium dioxide particles is low, however they can accumulate in the body.”

Watch the video below for more information about this lawsuit against Skittles.

Do you eat Skittles? If so, are you going to keep eating Skittles, or does this lawsuit make you think twice about the safety of the product? Does it surprise you that Skittles would contain an ingredient that is considered unsafe in Europe?