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2 CA bills aim to make teaching social media literacy mandatory for K-12 students

The idea is for students to know what stories are fake on social media.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Two California assembly bills would make teaching media literacy in the classroom mandatory.

Assemblyman Marc Berman from Menlo Park wants to make teaching media literacy mandatory in California schools. Texas, New Jersey, and Delaware already do.

The idea is for students to know what stories are fake on social media. A 2020 survey conducted by Common Sense Media found many can't tell the difference.

FDA Requests Authorities, Funding for Systematic Reassessment of Chemical Food Additives

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is working toward conducting a modernized, systematic reassessment of chemicals added to foods with a focus on post-market review, explain top agency officials in a recent article. In order to execute this new, data-informed and risk-based approach, however, FDA requires greater funding and additional authorities.

FDA has also outlined an enhanced approach to regulating food chemical safety, in which a new framework for systematic post-market chemical reassessment is included.

California Takes On Candy Makers With Bill Opponents Call the ‘Skittles Ban’

State moves toward barring food additives over health concerns

California lawmakers want to taste a slightly less artificial candy rainbow. 

The state Assembly has passed a bill that would ban use of five chemical additives in food products, including a coloring agent found in Skittles—with its “taste the rainbow” slogan—and Red 3, which is used in packaged cookies, frostings and other snacks. 

Consumer advocates backing the bill say these additives pose health risks and should be removed. Candy makers say federal regulators, not states, should determine the safety of food additives.