In a class-action motion filed Thursday in federal court in Oakland, California, Jenile Thames accused Aris of endangering unsuspecting Skittles eaters by using “elevated levels” of titanium dioxide, or TiO2, as a food additive. The lawsuit also said titanium dioxide will be banned in the European Union next month after a food safety regulator there deemed it unsafe because of its “genotoxicity,” or ability to alter DNA. “A reasonable consumer would expect that it can be safely purchased and consumed as it is marketed and sold,” the complaint said. “However, the products are not safe.” The suit seeks unspecified damages for fraud and violations of California consumer protection laws. Aris did not immediately respond Friday to requests for comment. The privately held McLean, Virginia-based company pledged in February 2016 to remove artificial colors from its food products over the next five years. In October 2016, it confirmed that titanium dioxide was among the dyes removed, according to the nonprofit Center for Food Safety, citing an email from Mars. According to the lawsuit, titanium dioxide is used in paints, adhesives, plastics and roofing materials and can cause DNA, brain and organ damage, as well as liver and kidney injuries. Thames, of San Leandro, Calif., said he bought Skittles at a local QuikStop in April and wouldn’t have done so if he had known what was in them. He said the label inspection wouldn’t have helped because the ingredients on Skittles’ bright-red packages are hard to read. The case is Thames v Mars Inc, US District Court, Northern District of California, no. 22-04145. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York Editing by Marguerita Choy)
