The lawmaker who proposed a bill banning chemicals found in food like Skittles says it's 'shocking' that the US is 'so far behind' the rest of the world

• The lawmaker who proposed a bill to ban chemicals in food like Skittles told Insider he is not trying to ban the products themselves.

• California Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel said the purpose of AB418 is to force manufacturers to tweak recipes.

• It comes after the EU banned certain additives like titanium dioxide found in popular candies.

The lawmaker who sponsored a bill that would ban chemicals found in a slew of food products, including candies like Skittles, said it isn't meant to "pull items off the shelves," but instead to force companies to tweak their recipes.

California Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel told Insider that  AB418 — which would prohibit the sale, manufacture, and distribution in California of any food containing titanium dioxide, red dye No. 3, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and brominated vegetable oil  — would be similar to a recently-passed EU law that bans certain additives from products sold there.

"The idea is just to get these manufacturers to make really small changes to their recipes to take out these toxic chemicals from the food," Gabriel told Insider.

Titanium dioxide gives colors a brighter appearance and is commonly found in paints, plastics, and adhesives. It's also associated with alterations to DNA and digestive tract issues.

Mars Inc., the company that manufactures Skittles, promised to stop using titanium dioxide in 2016, as Insider previously reported. But the chemical is still listed as an ingredient and last July a California man filed a lawsuit against the company for continuing to use the chemical and putting consumer health at risk. That lawsuit has since been dismissed.

Titanium dioxide, also known as Ti02, is also included in other popular candies, like Nerds and Trolli gummies, according to NBC. Gabriel, who is a father of three, told Insider he only wants to protect children and consumers in California.