Candy company Mars Inc. confirmed that it has stopped making Skittles with titanium dioxide, a food additive that is used to whiten foods, toothpastes, and various cosmetic products.
Mars Inc. told Bloomberg News that titanium dioxide had been “removed from all Skittles production at the end of last year.” The company’s removal of the food additive comes after the European Union banned titanium dioxide in 2022 due to “concerns that nanoparticles of the substance might accumulate in the body and damage DNA.”
Titanium dioxide is described as “a synthetically produced white pigment, manufactured from naturally occurring ores,” according to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) website.
The food additive “is often used to impart whiteness to food products, cosmetics and personal care items, like toothpaste,” according to ChemicalSafetyFacts.org.
Fox News reported that a spokesperson for Mars Wrigley had confirmed that titanium dioxide had been removed from the famous rainbow-colored candies in the United States.
“Our commitment to quality is what has enabled Mars to be enjoyed by consumers for over a century, and nothing is more important than the safety of our products,” the spokesperson told the outlet.
🚨 Skittles officially REMOVES the additive "titanium dioxide" from its products in the United States.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 28, 2025
This was banned in the European Union years ago.
This will also impact the following products: M&Ms, Snickers and Kind bars.
Make America Healthy Again. pic.twitter.com/82MhLq4C8w
The news that Skittles are no longer being made with titanium dioxide comes after the Make America Healthy Again Commission released a report that “listed additives of potential concern, including titanium dioxide,” according to the outlet.
Breitbart News reported in July 2022 that a lawsuit that was filed “in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland” claimed that the colorful candies contained “heightened levels” of titanium dioxide:
The lawsuit alleges that although Mars Inc. declared in 2016 that they were committed to “phasing out” titanium dioxide from their Skittles product, they have yet to do so.
In May 2023, the California Assembly passed Assembly Bill 418 (AB 418), which would ban food additives such as, Red Dye No. 3, propylparaben, titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, and brominated vegetable oil.
AB 418, which was signed into law in October 2023 by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), “prohibits the sale of food containing red dye 3, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, and propylparaben,” the Food Safety Magazine reported. The law is set to go into effect on January 1, 2027.
Breitbart News reached out to Mars Inc. for a statement but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
