shades fills you in

Skittles was sued in a class action lawsuit. The reason? Skittles have the chemical titanium dioxide in them. The suit claimed the candy is “unfit for human consumption”

Read the lawsuit here

So what is titanium dioxide? It’s an additive that helps give Skittles their famous, shiny rainbow colors

Titanium dioxide scatters light for brightness and white opacity. For that reason, it works great in sunscreens. And Skittles uses it to help the candies scatter light and shine bright

The EU has fully banned the chemical in food. They classify it as a carcinogen. It *is* still allowed in the U.S

And one lawmaker wants to do the same in California. He introduced a bill to ban foods with toxic chemicals including titanium dioxide -- LA Times

But the FDA considers titanium dioxide safe. It’s used in a bunch of other food items like candy, gum, baking products, and coffee creamers. But with the EU ban, people are starting to worry

Healthline writes that titanium dioxide is generally considered safe in food. Any negative effects seen in rats came after they consumed a very large amount of titanium dioxide

Besides, Skittles isn’t the only candy that still uses titanium dioxide -- for example, it’s also found in Starburst and Hostess Donettes

This TikToker says, “C’mon guys, this whole thing is dumb. Maybe it’s A-OK to continue to taste the rainbow”

And Skittles are way fun, setting aside this whole toxic chemical thing. This other TikToker is on a mission to figure out if you really can taste a difference in the rainbow colors. He could, can you?

In November 2022, the lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice. That means he can always file again. Will we ever get resolution?