Color Me Bad.
As a mom, I’ve always been a little concerned about the number of additives that are in my children’s food. I know that too many artificial ingredients can’t be good for you but I am hesitant to embrace the idea that everything manufactured is poison. I simply don’t think that’s true.
That said, dyes and coloring in food and children’s medicine have always bothered me. It seems so… unnecessary. I remember scrubbing away at the floors and tables at my high school (NCSSM was a residential high school and as such, demanded a semester of either grounds or cafeteria) and being struck, for the first time, that no matter how hard I scrubbed, that red kool-aid was not coming up. And considering that my roommate, Roxanne, and I drank at least a pitcher of it per day… Well, I wasn’t entirely convinced at that time that it was good for me. Years later, the lingering effects of those dyes and coloring have still not been confirmed - and they’re making news again.
Researchers in the UK have tested the effects of a range of artificial color (or colours for my friends in the UK) on the behavior of children. The results, which are being published in later months, are rumored to support prior research that linked certain additives, including a number of dyes, to hyperactivity, temper tantrums and poor concentration.
The research was conducted at Southampton University, one of the top ten research universities in the UK. Researchers at the university estimated the average daily intake of certain additives by children aged three years old and another group aged eight and nine year olds, and noted the consequences of each. The specific additives that were tested were the colors tartrazine (E102), ponceau 4R (E124), sunset yellow (E110), carmoisine (E122), quinoline yellow (E104) and allura red AC (E129), and the preservative sodium benzoate (E211). Each of the additives are approved for use by the EU - some of the colors are banned in other countries.
In the US, only the following seven artificial colorings are permitted in food:
* FD&C Blue No.1 - Brilliant Blue FCF (Blue shade)
* FD&C Blue No.2 - Indigotine (Dark Blue shade)
* FD&C Green No.3 - Fast Green FCF (Bluish green shade)
* FD&C Red No.40 - Allura Red AC (Red shade)
* FD&C Red No.3 - Erythrosine (Pink shade)
* FD&C Yellow No.5 - Tartrazine (Yellow shade)
* FD&C Yellow No.6 - Sunset Yellow FCF (Orange shade)
Ponceau, found in such foods as berry preserves and pie fillings, is prohibited in the US. Carmoisine, found in brown sauce, yogurts and marzipan, is banned in the US, Japan, Norway and Sweden. Quinoline yellow is not allowed in Australia, Japan, Norway and the US.
The most popular of the controversial substances is sodium benzoate, a preservative which is found in many soft drinks, including Sprite, Fanta, Sunkist, Dr. Pepper and Coke Zero. It is also found in many sauces, including fruit sauces and Chinese sauces like duck and mustard sauce.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the UK has said it would not issue formal recommendations until the findings were published. However, last month in a closed meeting, the FSA’s Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food (CoT) noted the “public health importance of the findingsâ€?. The FSA’s Committee of Toxicity on Chemicals had previously determined that research linking additives and behavioral problems in children was “inconclusive” based on a 2002 study.
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May 14th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
I agree with this blog post so much and thank you for taking the time to educate others who might not have thought of any of this. I’m looking forward to reading more!
May 14th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
I try to watch everything I give my kids, for reasons like this.
I remember my mom telling us when we were little “this kool aid stains the counter imagine what it does to your insides!”
No wonder we never got to have it in the house!
May 15th, 2007 at 6:59 am
Thanks for your article, Kelly. I found it right after I finished reading an article just published in the LA Times. It was about the link between breast cancer and early exposure of infant and toddler girls to environmental chemicals, including the dyes that give Kool-Aid their intense colors.
Your readers may be interested to know that these dyes are made from petroleum…the same stuff used to make gasoline. They are allowed to have contaminants of arsenic, lead and other cancer-causing agents. In fact, most of the dyes themselves have been linked to cancer. Many have been shown to trigger reproductive damage, DNA damage, migraines, respiratory problems such as asthma, as well as behavior and learning problems such as ADHD. Some children even exhibit autistic characteristics when they are exposed to dyes and similar petroleum based additives.
I work with the non-profit Feingold Association of the US to help families find the food they love, but without the nasty additives. Our web site contains many many references to those studies, as well as lots of practical information. See http://www.feingold.org for details.
Our family began using the Feingold diet in 1975 when we learned that food additives were triggering my husband’s migraines and my daughter’s difficult behavior.
May 15th, 2007 at 7:11 am
I forgot to mention something in my previous post: Food dyes are used for more than just coloring food. Red 3 (which is acknowledged to cause cancerous tumors in animals, but is still allowed in food) doubles as a pesticide. It is sprayed on manure piles to kill the maggots (fly eggs).
Reg 22 is not allowed to be used in food, but it is allowed in cosmetics and medicines…including medicines given to infants and children. Red 22 has another use…it is sprayed on marajuana plants and kills them.
Yellow No. 10 is not permitted in foods but is used to color Ritalin — this is odd, since Ritalin is given to children who are reacting to dyes like yellow 10.
Most of the dyes that have been created are banned from use in foods, but are still allowed to be put in drugs and cosmetics. This is a really bad idea…the dyes in cosmetics, lotions, etc. are absorbed into the skin. As far as dyes in drugs, it’s another very bad idea since they are used most widely in medicine for children. The idea of giving such undesirable chemicals to sick children is weird. Who is more vulnerable than a sick child?
Natural dyes are available, but they are much more expensive and not permanent (immortal?) like the petroleum-based ones.
Fortunately, there are medicines and foods of all types (including yummy lollypops) that are made with natural colors and flavors. Nobody has to eat petrol!
May 15th, 2007 at 9:44 am
Hey, thanks for the comments. I think I might try a follow-up post about some of these issues.
And Jane, since you brought it up, I don’t “get” the additives in medicines, either. I remember seeing “bubble-gum flavored” on my infant tylenol bottle and thinking, “my kids don’t even know what bubble-gum tastes like - they have no teeth!”
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