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The Controversy Over Food Dyes

So what's so bad about food dyes? They have been around for eons. Ancient man used food dyes!

There are two main types of food dyes; Exempt Color Additives, those which are derived from plant, animal or mineral sources and occur naturally, and Certifiable Color Additives, those which are derived from petroleum distillates or cold tars which are chemicals created in laboratories, (synthetic man-made).

The chemical name for Red40 is: 6-hydroxy-5-[2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfophenyl]azo]-2-naphthalenesulfonic acid. Each time your child eats one of those highly colored red breakfast cereals, just think…he is eating a mouthful of that, cleverly disguised as a cute little cartoon character-shaped spoonful of cereal!

There are currently 7 Certifiable Color Additives in use in foods today.

FD&C#
Hue
Name
Common Uses
Blue #1 Bright Blue Brilliant Blue Beverages, powders. jellies, confections, condiments, icings, syrups, extracts
Blue #2 Royal Blue Indigotine Baked goods, cereals, snack foods, ice cream, confections, cherries
Green #3 Sea Green Fast Green Beverages, puddings, ice cream, sherbet, cherries, baked goods, dairy products
Red #3 Cherry-Red Erythrosine Canned cherries, confections, baked goods, dairy products, shack foods
Red #40 Orage-Red Allura Red Gelatins, puddings, dairy products, confections, beverages, condiments
Yellow #5 Lemon Yellow Tatrazine Custards, beverages, ice cream, confections, preserves, cereals
Yellow #6 Orange Sunset Yellow Cereals, baked goods, snack foods, ice cream, beverages, confections


Certifiable or Artificial food color additives have been linked to a number of symptoms and illness including asthma, ADHD, skin rashes, allergies, abdominal pain, indigestion, vomiting, nasal congestion, hives, runny nose, bruising and unspecified subjective symptoms. Some of the more serious symptoms, illnesses and diseases these additives cause are thyroid tumors, brain tumors, lymphomas, chromosomal damage, angioedema and elevation of protein-bound iodine.

Parents have reported that when they eliminated these food additives from their child's diet, symptoms improved dramatically.

Bottom line: Although we are a technologically advanced civilization, we often do not project the outcomes or the impact that our discoveries will have on us. Even though these new discoveries are tested on laboratory animals, lab animals are not humans. The only way to truly measure the effects a product will have on a human is to do longitudinal studies over time on a human. We are finding out more and more, just exactly what effects these chemicals are having on our bodies, in the form of symptoms, illnesses and diseases.

When shopping, read the labels. By law, these colors must be listed on food labels. Certifiable Color Additives must be specifically and explicitly listed (eg: Red Dye #40). Exempt Color Additives do not need to declare the exact source. They are allowed to be listed as "artificial colors". If this is the case, you can be certain that the product does not contain Certifiable Color Additives. Look for those natural ingredients. Exempt Color Additives have been used for centuries. Certifiable Color Additives are manufactured from petroleum products and cold tar.

Which would you rather eat?

6-hydroxy-5-[2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfophenyl]azo]-2-naphthalenesulfonic acid.

-or-

Beet juice

To comment on this article, e-mail the editor at editor@zone-ware.com
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