Beyond Red Dye No. 3: Here’s What Parents Should Know About Food Colorings
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a ban on food dye Red No. 3 this week, the agency pointed to a law that says a food additive may not be authorized if it’s been found to cause cancer. Research shows that Red No. 3 can cause cancer in laboratory rats when they are exposed to high levels.
Food companies still have a couple of years to eliminate petroleum-based Red No. 3 from their products. And there are other synthetic food dyes — in all sorts of different colors — that remain on the market. Some evidence shows these synthetic dyes can negatively affect children’s behavior and mental health. So, how should parents navigate this food supply? Here are some things to consider.
How do you know if Red No. 3 is the food? If it’s bright, cherry red that’s your first clue a product may contain Red No. 3 — but you need to look at the ingredient label. The FDA requires that food manufacturers declare Red No. 3 and other synthetic colors on the ingredient label. Red No. 3 can be labeled as “FD&C Red No. 3” or “FD&C Red 3” or simply “Red 3.” As Red No. 3 is phased out, you may see Red dye No. 40 used as a replacement.
What are the health issues around Red No. 3 and other food dyes? The FDA’s ban was prompted by evidence that it caused cancer in laboratory rats at high doses, but there’s also concern Red No. 3 and other synthetic food dyes may affect some children.
Minnesota Just Became the First State to Target Plastic Chemicals in Food
Minnesota state Senator Heather Gustafson is hoping to protect her constituents from a toxic class of chemicals making their way into the food system. On Jan. 16, Gustafson introduced bill SF 188, which aims to pressure food manufacturers to reduce their use and levels of phthalate chemicals — plasticizers used to make plastics more flexible and durable — in their products.
“Plastic chemicals are all too common in the food we eat and pose a serious threat to our health,” Gustafson shared in a statement provided to Food & Wine via Consumer Reports. “Minnesotans have the right to know whether the food they are eating and serving their families is contaminated with toxic phthalates. My bill will help consumers make healthier buying decisions and create a strong incentive for food manufacturers to get plastic chemicals out of our food.”
Here’s what you need to know about the bill, phthalate chemicals, and what you can do about it even if you don’t live in Minnesota.
Your Diet Could Be Disrupting Your Sleep. Here’s What to Eat Instead.
Eating the right foods throughout the day could be the key to a good night’s rest.
A growing body of research has found that some foods can help your body produce optimal levels of hormones that are essential for good-quality sleep.
But other foods can do the opposite, disrupting your blood sugar and hormone levels and ultimately making you more likely to toss and turn and wake up throughout the night.
Studies have found that many adults in the U.S. and other Western countries eat a diet that is detrimental to their sleep — one that contains a lot of ultra-processed foods laden with added sugars, refined carbohydrates and saturated fat. These foods may reduce how much time you spend in deep sleep, which is the nightly stage of sleep during which your body repairs and regrows tissues, strengthens your immune system and consolidates memories.
USDA Updates Turkey Flock H5N1 Surveillance Policies Following Raw Turkey Pet Food Contamination
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently updated it policy for pre-slaughter surveillance of turkeys in its efforts to control the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The announcement comes after a household cat contracted HPAI H5N1 from infected raw turkey pet food in late Dec. 2024.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and to remove a potential avenue for ongoing disease spread as well as to bolster consumer and trading partner confidence, APHIS collaborated with state animal health officials and the poultry industry to update its guidance for existing pre-slaughter surveillance steps to further ensure that affected poultry does not enter the food system,” the agency wrote in a news release.
For turkey premises outside control zones in states affected by HPAI, the new updates involve the implementation of isolation protocols, clinical monitoring and premovement testing 72 hours before transporting turkeys to slaughter.
Certified “Naturally Grown” Offers Alternative to the USDA Organic Label
On a cold winter day in Illinois, three little pigs are resting in a three-sided shed. They have plenty of space to trot around, as they do when Jennifer Duensing approaches. Those footsteps mean it’s feeding time. They squeal impatiently, waiting for their usual diet of organic feed, which sometimes includes vegetables like squash grown right here on the farm.
The farm, Illinois Country Harvest, had been in Duensing’s family for generations when she took it over in 2015. She was new to farming, so there was a lot to learn about how to best manage the near-12 acres now under her purview. But one thing she definitely knew was that she wanted to manage the land, crops and animals without chemical inputs. “We use absolutely zero chemicals, which means if we have pests, we don’t spray,” she said.
There are countless certifications she could have chosen and labels she could slap on her products to try and prove her farm has good practices. In the midst of rising consumer demand for organic foods, a nonprofit called “A Greener World” which “promotes practical, sustainable solutions in agriculture by supporting farmers and educating consumers” offers a 15-page guide that attempts to clear up consumer confusion around labels that use terms like “natural,” “humane” and “organic.” One of those labels, “Certified Naturally Grown,” seemed a perfect fit for how she was already running her farm.
