Is Food Dye Just a Colorful Killer?

by Nichol Nelson, Posted Jun 30th 2010 @ 2:00PM

Bright-red soda, rainbow-hued kid's cereal, electric-yellow popsicles...most of us have eaten them. But unlike the public health uproar over salt and trans fats, there hasn't been much said about the dangers of food dyes. Fed up with consumer apathy, The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is calling for a complete government ban of food dyes. The advocacy group says the three most widely used dyes -- Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 -- contain cancer-causing substances. Another dye, Red 3, has actually been identified as a carcinogen by the FDA, but you can still find it on supermarket shelves.

"These synthetic chemicals do absolutely nothing to improve the nutritional quality or safety of foods," says Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the nonprofit group. "[They] trigger behavior problems in children and, possibly, cancer in anybody."

Think you're immune to the problem because you don't gobble Fruit Loops in the morning? Think again. The dyes are in a staggering array of foods, from salad dressing to matzo balls. In fact, manufacturers put about 15 million pounds of eight synthetic dyes into the food supply each year, according to CSPI. Even scarier? Per capita consumption of dyes has risen five-fold since 1955. A lot of it has to do with the kinds of foods now marketed to children. The wilder the color, the more cash a product often brings in.

"Dyes add no benefits whatsoever to foods, other than making them more 'eye-catching' to increase sales," says James Huff, the associate director for chemical carcinogenesis at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' National Toxicology Program. "CSPI's scientifically detailed report on possible health effects of food dyes raises many questions about their safety. Their continued use presents unnecessary risks to humans, especially young children."

But are the risks real? Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 have long been known to cause allergic reactions in some people. CSPI says that while those reactions are not common, they can be serious. Numerous studies have shown that dyes can cause hyperactivity in children.

But cancer is the biggest worry. In 1985, the acting commissioner of the FDA said that Red 3, one of the lesser-used dyes, "has clearly been shown to induce cancer" and was "of greatest public health concern." The dye was never banned, however, and according to the CSPI, manufacturers use about 200,000 pounds of Red 3 every year in foods like fruit leather and frozen meals marketed to children.

Tests of Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 showed signs of causing cancer in lab animals, according to CSPI. Yellow 5 also caused mutations, an indication of possible carcinogenicity.

In addition, according to the report, FDA tests show that the three most-widely used dyes, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, are tainted with low levels of cancer-causing compounds, including benzidine and 4-aminobiphenyl in Yellow 5.

Freaked out yet? Suddenly, Jacobson's request sounds reasonable: "The Food and Drug Administration should ban dyes, which would force industry to color foods with real food ingredients, not toxic petrochemicals." Not convinced? Eat those jellybeans at your own risk.

Filed Under: Health & Medical, Food News
Tags: cancer causing foods, food dyes, health

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Reader comments (Page 3 of 3)

7-02-2010 @7:32AM margarita said... I believe this stuff is already and has been for some time banned in the EU. We may be America and be a great place, but the EU seems to vote for the people and not corporations in cases like this.
Between the Chinese imports and tainted foods and toys for our kids, our own companies are poisoning us with these chemicals. They are in EVERYTHING. Like natural remedies for illness or conditions now the FDA has screwed up farmers and those who believe instinctually and rightfully so that these chemicals are bad and want to grow organically. They make it harder than growing crops in the desert for these people
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7-03-2010 @12:40AM Shelly said... Petrochemicals do cause cancer. I am surprised dyes were not banned years ago. Car exhaust and industrial pollution cause cancer and other illnesses as well as global warming. So it is hardly surprising that if you eat and oil based product you could get cancer. I also wonder if second hand cigarette smoke doesn't also cause global warming. We need to get off oil NOW. Right now less then 1 % of transportion is with clean fuels. That is a very low number and it's easier to just talk about it than actually do something. Our government has all kinds of money to hand out to the big polluters and FAT CATS. They have a hard time to find any money to help companies that are involved with new clean energy. The BP oil spill will be forgotten a year from now. Although probably less off shore drilling will be allowed we will still be 99% dependent on oil. We will be worse off because more oil will have to be bought from OPEC. We will just talk about whats right as we head down the wrong road to a greater degree then now.
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7-02-2010 @11:04AM larry said... You do realize that laws have now been passed to prevent anyone from exercising free speech against the food industry. After the Oprah incident, they passed the cheese burger law: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3500388.stm. Other laws prevent criticism against meat processing plants, etc. It is considered liable to speak out now. So, the government is protecting them b/c of lobbyists' money, etc. Also, it costs a lot more to buy whole foods, organic, etc. But, if you can, you should. There has been a surge recently of companies offering lines of organic foods along side their crappy ones. Goes to show you they will sell to both consumer groups. Also, why does the government not require the tobacco industry to be organic, no additive, if we are truly concerned about health. Wasn't that why we are taxing it so heavily? ... or is it just that they GOV is benefiting from people's addiction? Uncle Sam is and will not be your savior. Take responsibility for your own consumption. And, yes, you have a right to die young and happy with bad consumption habits if you want to!
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7-04-2010 @9:14PM danielle said... If you haven't seen them, I encourage to you watch 2 recent films. Food Inc. and Beautiful Truth (this one has some good facts, is sadly has a cooky hippie vibe that also promotes Gerson a bit too much...(the affiliated institute has a very pricey program.)
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