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New York Lawmakers Want to Make Your Tide Pods Look Less Delicious

The new bill would force detergent companies to make their packets a "uniform color that is not attractive to children."
Drew Schwartz
Brooklyn, US

Tide Pods are still flying off the shelves and into people's mouths at an ungodly rate, despite the fact that they're literally filled with poison. Apparently the threat of winding up in the hospital isn't enough to keep teens from making videos of themselves chowing down on the packets of laundry detergent—the giant, deadly Gushers just look too damn delicious to resist.

Now, after YouTube cracked down on the Tide Pod craze, New York lawmakers are stepping in. The New York Post reports that State Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas laid out legislation this week that would force detergent companies to make their packets a "uniform color that is not attractive to children" and package them in something that's "not easily permeated by a child’s bite."

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The Democrats aimed the bill at every detergent company on the market—Tide isn't the only player in the pod game—but called the brand out in a letter they sent to its parent company, Procter & Gamble, on Tuesday.

"We write to urge you to alter the appearance and packaging of your Tide PODS detergent packets," they wrote. "You and other manufacturers must use a stronger bittering agent to prevent ingestion of pods, reduce their pleasant smell, and make them feel more firm."

Tide is trying to crack down on the fad, putting child guards on its packaging, getting Rob Gronkowski to yell "No!" at would-be detergent eaters, and asking folks on Twitter who claim they've chomped into a pod to call Poison Control. But in response to the new legislation, Procter & Gamble argued that "color does not play a critical role in a child's accidental exposure to laundry pacs."

"Consumers have a choice: Those who prefer single colored pac can use Tide Free and Gentle, which is all-white," the company said in a statement, according to USA Today. "Tide is also available in a liquid and powder product form."

Or, if people really just can't fight the urge, edible Tide Pod pizza is a thing now.

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Related: Eating Tide Pods