The chemicals, currently banned in the European Union, are found in numerous snack staples including Skittles, Ding Dongs (with red heart sprinkles) and a host of other ubiquitous food items.
However, Gabriel doesn't mean to deprive Californians of Skittles and other treats.
"I love Skittles. I love Wild Berry Skittles. I eat them all the time," Gabriel said. "I would vote against a bill to ban Skittles.
"What we're really trying to get them to do is to change their recipes," Gabriel told The Times on Thursday. "All of these are nonessential ingredients."
Skittles and other products still line the shelves of stores in Europe, Gabriel noted, but they have different ingredients.
"I think the overwhelming likelihood of what's going to happen would be that they would make minor modifications to their recipes," Gabriel said.
California lawmakers backing the bill pointed to a number of scientific studies that showed links between the chemicals — which include red dye no. 3, titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil and propyl paraben — and health issues. In one study cited by Gabriel's office, titanium dioxide, used in Skittles as a colorant, was found to be associated with decreased immune responses in rats.
A lawsuit filed last year in California against Mars, which manufactures Skittles, claimed that the colorful confections were
"unfit for human consumption" due to titanium dioxide.