A NewsAnchorMom Reader sent me this interesting article about artificial food dyes. I have never really thought about the topic. This Baltimore Sun.com article brings up some good points!
Almost 40 years ago, artificial food dyes had their moment in the sun. In 1969, Soviet scientists announced that Red Dye #2 caused cancer in rats. Seven years later, the Food and Drug Administration agreed, and banned the ubiquitous coloring from U.S. food - creating a cultural icon for a generation that used "Red Dye #2" as shorthand for anything toxic. Now, synthetic dyes are getting a second run. New research indicates the chemicals can disrupt some children's behavior, and activists and consumer groups are asking for bans or limits on the dyes.
A prestigious British medical journal recommended that doctors use dye-free diets as a first-line treatment for some behavior disorders; British regulators are pressuring companies to stop using the dyes, and some are complying. The issue has generated much less attention on this side of the Atlantic. The FDA says the dyes are safe, and has no plans to limit their use.
Eight dyes are commonly used in packaged food: Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Orange B, Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the dye industry produces five times as much dye as it did 50 years ago. Dyes are sometimes even used to simulate the color of fruits or vegetables.
"At this point, there's no evidence of a connection between dyes and children's behavior," says FDA consumer safety officer Judith Kidwell. She points out that in 1982, a National Institutes of Health panel examined the safety of artificial dyes and found no evidence of risk. That attitude frustrates activists. "They're at least 20 years behind the science," says Michael F. Jacobson, Executive Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Last month, the group petitioned the FDA to ban the use of the dyes, as well as sodium benzoate, a common preservative that critics also suspect of contributing to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD." At the very least, they ought to give some consideration to what the British government is doing," Jacobson said. The FDA is reviewing the CSPI's petition; a spokesman said he didn't know when the agency would respond. Scientists aren't sure how these chemicals might affect the brain. There are only eight artificial food dyes used in the U.S. To get specific colors, manufacturers mix them. All are made from petroleum or coal tar, and most are in the "azo" family, which means they contain a specific kind of nitrogen. Some researchers have found evidence that azo dyes interfere with dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in the ability to focus and think clearly.
Whatever the possible cause, the debate will likely heat up here, in part because ADHD has become so widely diagnosed. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 4.4 million American children have the disorder. People with ADHD have trouble focusing and act impulsively.In 2003, 2.5 million children were taking medication to treat the disorder, usually powerful stimulants such as Ritalin. I assume the dyes are used simply to make the food look better. It does seem silly that we are ingesting these chemicals just because they look good.
What are your thoughts on this story?
-NewsAnchorMom Jen
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If teens are too embarrassed to ask the doctor private questions, they can now text them! Here's the story:
