Hopefully the Food and Drug Administration will eventually take steps to ban artificial red food coloring – a color found largely in beverages, snacks, cereals and candy.

The FDA said it is reevaluating the safety of the synthetic additive after a decade with many serious side effects. “With Red 3, we have a petition before the authorization board for revocation, and we hope that in the next few weeks, we will take action on that petition,” Jim Jones, FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods, told Senate Health. , told the meeting of the Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

At the meeting, Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Several members also urged the regulation body to ban Red No. 3, which is made from petroleum and laced with food and drinks. A bright cherry color. “With the holiday season in full swing, where sugary treats are in abundance, it is appalling that this chemical remains hidden in the foods we and our children are eating,” Pallone wrote in a letter to the agency. ”

“Although food companies must ensure that the food they market is safe, they must only ensure that their products meet FDA standards. This means that thousands of products that contain this chemical may remain on the market.

study link artificial food coloring for adhd, cancer

Several studies have linked artificial food colors like Red Dye 40 to hyperactivity, including ADHD. Some research also shows a link between colors and an increase in ADHD or hyperactivity in children. Currently, the US does not ban artificial food dyes, but scientists have strongly argued that there is enough evidence to justify banning them.

Besides ADHD, some other potential side effects of Red No. 3 include:

• behavioral changes such as irritability and depression
• Allergies
• hives and asthma
• sneezing
• watery eyes
• skin irritation
• migraine and severe headache

Red Dye 40 contains benzene, a known cancer cause

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for health secretary, has claimed that food dyes cause cancer, but has not said anything about artificial food dyes in American food. Confirmation for the Cabinet post What will they do if it happens? “There are some departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA, that have to go; They are not doing their job; They’re not protecting our children,” Kennedy said in a news interview with NBC News last month.

The FDA regulates three-quarters of the US food supply

All color additives used in foods must be approved by the FDA before they can be used in foods sold nationwide. There are more than 36 FDA-approved color additives – 9 of which are synthetic colors – including two red dyes that are currently under federal investigation.

Experts say that some colors used in food are also added to pharmaceutical medicines. Last decade, the FDA banned Red No. 3 — also known as erythrosine — from cosmetics and topical medications because the chemical was found to be carcinogenic in high doses in tests on lab rats.

food coloring options

According to experts, when buying any food, you should first read the nutrition label and look for foods that use natural colors from fruit and vegetable extracts, such as:

• beet juice
• Beetroot Powder
• blueberry juice
• pomegranate juice
• beta carotene
• Cranberries
• Cherry
• strawberry
• dried hibiscus flowers

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