FDA Fails to Protect Children
The Erin Elizabeth, Founder, Health Nut News
Nonprofit, Center for Science in the Public Interest, recently released a damning report that blames the FDA for failing to protect children from the behavioral problems that artificial food dyes cause. Since 2011 evidence has continued to grow, highlighting the danger of food dyes.
From the article:
“Since 2011, eight detailed analyses, including two meta-analyses, concluded that excluding food dyes, or a diet that eliminates dyed foods and certain other foods and ingredients, reduces behavior problems in some children. Furthermore, recent analyses of the dye content of popular foods and drinks indicate that many American children are consuming amounts of dyes far higher than the levels demonstrated in some trials to trigger problems. CSPI, which in 2008 asked the FDA to ban Red 40, Yellow 5, and six other synthetic colorings, says that the dyes fail to meet the federal safety standard for color additives, which requires “convincing evidence that establishes with reasonable certainty that no harm will result from the intended use of the color additive.”
Sadly, here in the US most companies still sell us products that contain ingredients that are not allowed in Europe. And a study out of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, highlights the terrifying discrepancy: more than 90 percent of candy, “fruit” snacks, and drink mixes- geared toward children- are colored with dyes. The companies making those “food” items are companies like Kraft, PepsiCo, General Mills, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s.
American customers buy products heavy with Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40 yet in Europe they sell naturally colored or dye-free versions of the EXACT same food. They should be ashamed but they aren’t…and they won’t be until lawmakers do something or we do something. “American children will continue to be exposed to these powerful chemicals so long as FDA lags behind its European counterparts, ” said CSPI president Michael F. Jacobson.
Of the two meta-analysis done, one published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that avoiding dyed foods, for some children, was an effective non-drug treatment for ADHD. Yet, Dr. Linda M. Katz, Chief Medical Officer for the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, that dyes are not just safe, but “very safe” and that “As for ADHD, results on studies about a link between color additives and ADHD have been inconclusive, inconsistent, or difficult to interpret due to inadequacies in study design.” Ask a parent how they feel. Many will tell you what it’s like to take dyes out of the diet and then put them back in. It’s like night and day.
More from the article:
“It’s bad enough that the FDA has declined to ban dyes or require warning labels on dyed foods in light of the strong scientific evidence that they cause behavioral problems,” said CSPI senior scientist Lisa Lefferts. “It adds insult to injury that the FDA hasn’t even informed consumers about the impact these unnecessary chemicals are having on some children and their families.”
Until the FDA acknowledges the information that’s currently available and acts responsibly, by at least putting warning labels on dyed food, it would be smart to get into the habit of reading labels for yourself.
Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest and Foodsafety.gov
