California’s done it statewide, and now the pressures on the FDA to take the reins and ban red dye No. 3 nationwide.
The dye, which was banned from topical use nationwide in 1990 because of its link to cancer, is used as a coloring for numerous food products such as soda, yogurt, snacks, and frozen desserts. The purpose is to make the foods look bright and inviting to eat, but studies have linked them to hyperactivity in children.
In a review of animal studies, they’ve also been linked to memory and learning, and Mark Miller, a scientist with California’s EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, believes it’s time for the FDA to go all the way and ban them altogether.
“I think the evidence is compelling from those human studies that children’s consumption of synthetic food dyes can contribute to increases in symptoms like inattention, hyperactivity in some children,” he told NPR. They are already severely restricted in the European Union.
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Publish Date: 2023-10-17 16:51:07