"food dyes" news and stories

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.

There's a new (well, old, but gaining momentum) controversy in the world of food: should food dyes be banned?

Many people want the dyes (with names like Red 40 and Blue 2, which sounds like a score from an episode of Hell's Kitchen) used in food banned because they think they might cause hyperactivity and ADHD. The Food and Drug Administration insists that study after study has shown that food dyes/artificial coloring is safe for kids and adults to eat. Though as CBS' Nancy Cordes says, a study a few years ago of 21 top studies done showed that the dyes could actually have an effect on the restlessness and attention problems in children. A non-profit group is asking for the dyes to be banned.

I have to admit that food dye is an ingredient I never even think about when buying packaged foods. How about you?