Massachusetts Could Ban These Popular Snack Foods in 2024

Massachusetts is a great place to live and its residents are proud to call it home. There are many reasons to love the Bay State, but one of the biggest reasons folks love to live the strong regulations are surrounding the health and safety of its residents.

A healthy lifestyle tops many people's list of priorities and the state backs that up. In addition to ample outdoor recreation to keep folks healthy and active, there is also an abundance of gyms that choose to stay fit indoors. Couple that with farm-to-table restaurants and health-conscious eateries available almost everywhere, and there's no excuse not to get out and stay healthy.

When it comes to our diets, Americans are known to be on the unhealthy side, especially considering some of the food products that are sold in the U.S. There is a long list of food that's available here, but banned in many other countries because of harmful ingredients they contain.  Mountain Dew, Little Debbie Swiss Rolls, Frosted Flakes, Coffee Mate, and Stove Top Stuffing among many others, are all banned in other parts of the world, yet are still allowed to be sold in Massachusetts. But is that about to change?

Are Some Popular "Junk Foods" Going to be Banned in Massachusetts?

The State of California just banned the future sale of food containing a list of harmful ingredients. The California Food Safety Act was signed into law in early October by Governor Gavin Newsom. The law goes into effect in January of 2027.

The legislation will ban the manufacture, sale, or distribution of foods containing four “possibly toxic chemical additives”, red dye 3, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, and propylparaben. Titanium dioxide was originally the fifth chemical, but it was removed before the bill reached the governor, as the FDA’s stance is that it is as safe as a “regulated color additive in foods.”

So what does this mean in Massachusetts? Will they follow suit and also ban foods that contain those ingredients? The short answer is they might not have to. Since foods that include those ingredients, like Skittles, Fruit by the Foot, Peeps, and Mountain Dew, just to name a few, aren't going to discontinue those products, they will just come up with new recipes for them that don't contain those above listed chemicals. Since manufacturers are going to make new versions for California sales, they are unlike to make two versions of the product, meaning the new versions of these foods will probably be sold everywhere.