Health

Taste The Toxin? Shocking Lawsuit Targets Skittles Over Alleged Toxic Ingredient

Published on May 18, 2025

According to a lawsuit filed Thursday in a federal court in northern California, Skittles candies—which go by the slogan “taste the rainbow” because of their variety of colors—contain titanium dioxide, a “known toxin,” which makes them “unfit for human consumption.”

San Leandro resident Jenile Thames filed a lawsuit against Skittles’ manufacturer, Mars Inc., claiming that consumers “are at heightened risk of a host of health effects for which they were unaware stemming from genotoxicity – the ability of a chemical substance to change DNA.” Thames sought class-action status.

According to the civil lawsuit, Mars officially pledged in February 2016 to phase out titanium dioxide and has long been aware of the chemical’s purported hazards. According to court documents, Mars declared it will abide with the titanium dioxide restriction imposed by France in 2019.

Mars allegedly “blew smoke” when it made that pledge six years ago, claiming that the phase-out was only necessary because “consumers today are calling on food manufacturers to use more natural ingredients in their products,” according to Thames’ lawsuit.

“Incredibly, Defendant even claimed that ‘[a]rtificial colors pose no known risks to human health or safety’,” Thames’ suit also said. “In doing so, Defendant concealed from consumers material information it knew.”

Thames contends that Mars still sells candy in the US that contains titanium dioxide as an additive and is “failing to inform consumers of the implications of consuming the toxin”. (Ingredients lists vary, some saying they might or might not contain titanium dioxide.)

“Instead, Defendant relies on the ingredient list which is provided in minuscule print on the back of the Products, the reading of which is made even more challenging by the lack of contrast in color between the font and packaging, as set out below in a manner in which consumers would normally view the product in the store,” court papers contend.

According to Thames, Mars failed to properly warn customers of this purportedly dangerous ingredient before or at the time of purchase, nor did the business advise them that these sweets “should otherwise be approached with caution”.

According to the European Food Safety Authority, titanium dioxide is “a pigment commonly used to provide a cloudy effect and white background colour”, and is typically used in candy and baking. In 2021, the authority announced that “titanium dioxide can no longer be considered safe as a food additive”.

“A critical element in reaching this conclusion is that we could not exclude genotoxicity concerns after consumption of titanium dioxide particles,” the authority said. “After oral ingestion, the absorption of titanium dioxide particles is low, however they can accumulate in the body.”

In an email, a Mars representative stated that the business does not comment on ongoing legal matters.