Marketplace ordered snacks from Europe that are also sold in Canada to see how the synthetic additives differ.
A CBC Marketplace investigation found some food manufacturers are producing snack foods for the Canadian market that contain an ingredient banned in Europe.investigation found some food manufacturers are producing snack foods for the Canadian market that contain an ingredient banned in Europe.
Watch the full Marketplace episode, What's in Our Food?, Friday at 8 p.m., 8:30 p.m. in Newfoundland, on CBC-TV and anytime on Marketplace ordered snacks from Europe, on the right, to compare them to the Canadian versions, on the left. The Canadian versions contain titanium dioxide, the European versions do not. From the upper left in clockwise order: M&Ms chocolate/milk chocolate, Nerds Gummy Clusters Rainbow, Skittles Original/Fruits, Nerds Rainbow/Fruits.
"Food companies do not need to wait for regulations," said Thomas Galligan, a scientist who studies food additives for the Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest.