On January 15, 2024, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that they will no longer permit the use of food coloring Red 3 in foods or any ingested products without prior FDA approval. This ban sparked conversation about the negative effects of food coloring on the human body, and the apparent necessity for its presence in our food.
With recent studies, like this one from PubMed, showing that food dyes can cause devastating health effects, it seems almost natural that the government would look into banning these toxic chemicals. The study shows that Red 3, the food dye that is currently under scrutiny, causes cancer in animals. It also showed that many other food dyes have negative effects on health. Red 40, Yellow 5,and Yellow 6 also have been found to contain carcinogens (cancer causing ingredients). The dyes Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 have been found to cause hypersensitivity reactions.
These hypersensitivity reactions, causing anger and restlessness in many, have caused many parents to teach their children to avoid food colored products.
“I definitely notice a difference in my children’s mood and attention spans when they consume food coloring,” an anonymous parent said. “I have begun to try buying food products that are free from dyes and my children’s behavior has improved significantly. It also feels good knowing that I am lowering their consumption of harmful carcinogens.”
After learning about the negative effects of food coloring, I began to avoid consuming food coloring in my everyday life. I noticed a change in how my body felt, depending on how much food coloring I consumed that day.
When I didn’t watch the amount of colored foods I ate, I felt lethargic, nauseous, and unmotivated. On days that I consumed foods without food coloring, or that were naturally colored, I had much higher energy levels and felt more productive.
When I took on this challenge, it was more difficult than I imagined. Many of the foods and drinks that I regularly consume are full of food dyes like Red 40, Blue 1, and Yellow 5 & 6. Products like sports drinks, chips, candy, and certain condiments have food dyes on their ingredients list. But, why do all these products use food coloring?
According to an FDA article titled “Color Additives History”, “Color additives are important components of many products, making them attractive, appealing, appetizing, and informative. Added color serves as a kind of code that allows us to identify products on sight, like candy flavors, medicine dosages, and left or right contact lenses.”
This identification is important for brands to appeal to consumers and make a profit, but is there a way that companies can color their foods without the toxic petroleum based dyes that we use today?
When reading the ingredients in some of the foods I eat, I noticed that some were using naturally derived coloring. For example, Motts Fruit Snacks use vegetable and fruit extracts to color their product.
As we look to the future, I hope to see more regulations on food coloring and an emphasis on more natural ingredients in manufactured foods, drinks, and drugs. If the United States makes this adjustment, citizens may see similar changes to those that I have seen over just a few days. Imagine the change we may see if chemical food dye is eradicated, we consume more natural food, and how the health of US citizens will change, seemingly for the better.
