The Food Coloring (Photo credit: Matthew Bland)
Food colouring has become so pervasive in the foods that we eat that we give them little thought. But did you know that the European Union has taken to labelling foods containing any food colouring with a label stating “This product may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” The British government has even gone so far as to remove the majority of food colouring in its foods years ago.
Here in North America we greatly lag behind the EU in how we deal with food coloring. It is still found in the majority of packaged or processed foods we eat with the worst culprit being the foods we are feeding our children. Why is food colouring treated with such caution in the UK? It is fairly well known now that food colouring leads to hyper-activity in children. The medical journal Lancet reported that food dyes indeed lead to hyper-activity in children and that some food colouring can cause damage to a developing child’s IQ. In fact the Center for Science in the Public Interest or CSPI issued a 58 page report linking food colouring to hyperactivity, hyper sensitivity and other behavioural issues in children.
The CSPI also linked food colouring to several different types of cancers. Red # 40 is the most popular or widely used and appears to accelerate the growth of tumours in mice. Blue has been linked to brain tumours. Yellow also contains cancer causing chemicals and the list goes on and on. The CSPI has recommended to the FDA that food colouring be removed from our food. It states “…because of those toxicological considerations of organ damage, cancer, hypersensitivities, birth defects and behavioural issues food dyes cannot be consider safe. The FDA should ban food dyes which serve no purpose other than a cosmetic effect.” Food dyes are added to children’s food to make them appear more attractive to kids and are really used to manipulate children into thinking the food is more fun if it is rainbow coloured. It also often used to replicate foods found in nature. Would cheese puffs be the same if they were the colour of asphalt?
So in the constant campaign to protect our families read the labels on the foods you buy. Food colouring is in beverages, candies, ice cream, yellow cheese, baked good etc. You can now buy dye free Tylenol and Advil which is probably a wise choice. And whenever possible choose whole foods that do not come with a list of ingredients in the first place!
Edible Ideas 