A consumer has sued Mars, Inc. after claiming that Skittles candies are unsafe to eat. This is because they have a known toxin that the company had said that they would get rid of six years ago.
On Thursday, Jenile Thames, of Oakland, California, proposed a class action lawsuit, filed in federal court. He says that Mars endangered unknowing Skittles eaters by utilizing a great amount of titanium dioxide, or TiO2, as a food additive.
The documents also noted that titanium dioxide will be prohibited in the European Union next month. This is due to a food safety regulator, there, citing it dangerous because of “genotoxicity” or its capability to alter DNA.
The lawsuit asks for damages for fraud and violations of California consumer protection laws.
In 2016, the company vowed to get rid of artificial colors from its food items for the next five years. Titanium dioxide was one of the colorants they were to discontinue.
Court documents state that titanium dioxide is found in paint, adhesives, plastics, and roofing items. It also says that it causes DNA, brain, and organ damage. Lesions in the kidney and liver could also appear.
Thames stated that he bought a pack of Skittles from a QuikStop in April. Had he known the dangers, he said that he wouldn’t have purchased it.
He added that reading the label would have been useless because the red packages are hard to read.
