Secretary HHS RFK: Harmful Artificial Dyes To Be Phased Out

FD&C Dye Controversy Not New

FD&C artificial dyes have been a contentious issue for decades.

And so, when Health and Human Services Department Secretary Robert F. Kennedy decided to push the phaseout of these dyes, going so far as referring to them as poison, the move was not without precedent.

Many researchers, doctors, and other health professionals have long suspected that these seemingly innocuous colorants were doing silent harms to kids, and really all people.

There’s not actually any conclusive evidence that food dyes are dangerous, but there have been studies that seem to point in that direction, clearly.

Red Number 3 has been associated with cancer in lab rats.

And these dyes, generally, have been correlated with kids’ hyperactive behavior.

See the article at FDA.org – HHS, FDA to Phase Out Petroleum-Based Synthetic Dyes in Nation’s Food Supply

The Alternatives? Bright Phytonutrients With Amazing Properties

In any case, there are alternative dyes that can be obtained from the natural world.

So many plants yield colorful dyes, bright and vivid, natural phytochemicals that can be safely extracted and concentrated.

And, the great thing about this is, these natural colorants are incredible.

We’ve all heard of beta-carotene in carrots. But what about zeaxanthin? Or betaine?

These natural alternatives actually help the body.

Working as antioxidants, and also possessing antibiotic activity, these natural counterparts to the artificial dyes help us rather than harm us.

We Americans Get Sold Junk Food

In America, we get the lousy food choices. Face it.

We need to work on that. R.F.K. has begun.

Perhaps it’s a small step, but it’s a step in the right direction, nevertheless.

Fruit Juice Or Refinery By-Product?

Kelloggs Foot Loops cereal sold in Europe has carrot juice, watermelon juice, and turmeric as ingredients.

The U.S. version of the product?

Blue #1.

Yellow #5.

Red #40.

Wow.

Artificial colors are derived from highly processed petroleum or coal tar and other natural raw materials.

Why do we get the garbage, while the people of Europe, who seem to be more discerning customers, get real food?

Regulations may be a part of it. But the fact that people in Europe take food very seriously is surely another.

Not All Agree That Artificial Colors Are Harmful

Some manufacturers debate that this is even of issue. That these artificial food dyes are safe.

They cite the fact that they’ve been in use for decades without incident.

From a purely economic standpoint, a free market would self-correct as a populace becomes more informed about food choices.

That’s been steadily happening since the ’90s.

Does the push toward a more natural  and kid-safe diet require the government getting involved?

If the harms posed by these chemicals is great enough, then the answer is, of course, yes.