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Do Food Dyes Make ADHD Worse? Why Some Studies’ Findings Spur Food Coloring Bans
They’re in nearly all candies and fruit-flavored snacks sold in conventional American grocery stores.
They’re on the ingredient list of hundreds of thousands of branded food items, from Fruit Loops and Trix Cereal to Gatorade and Skittles.
And they’ll soon be banned in California public schools.
Artificial food dyes are the target of a growing number of state bills that would crack down on the chemicals in response to scientific studies that found a possible link between them and hyperactivity in children.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed into law a “first-in-the-nation” measure barring schools from serving foods containing the chemicals.
Beginning on Dec. 31, 2027, when the legislation goes into effect, AB 2316, or the California School Food Safety Act, will keep schools from serving six artificial food dyes that appear up and down the grocery aisle — Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6.
And similar legislation is taking off in at least 10 other states.
A bill introduced in Pennsylvania’s legislature in March seeks to classify the same six additives as “poisonous and deleterious substances.”
Boar’s Head Faces Legal Scrutiny Over Deadly Deli Meat Listeria Outbreak, USDA Says
Boar’s Head, the deli meat company at the center of a deadly listeria food poisoning outbreak, is being scrutinized by law enforcement officials, the U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) disclosed in response to government records requests.
Officials with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service refused to share documents regarding the agency’s inspections and enforcement at the Boar’s Head plant in Jarratt, Virginia, plus inspection reports from eight other company factories across the U.S.
The records — which the Food Safety and Inspection Service acknowledged include dozens of pages of documentation — were withheld because they were compiled “for a law enforcement purpose, which includes both civil and criminal statutes,” according to a letter sent Friday in response to Freedom of Information Act requests submitted by The Associated Press.
Releasing the records could “interfere with” and “hinder” the government’s investigation, the letter said.
Map Shows 11 US States Banning Food Dyes
California has become the first state in the country to ban certain food dyes — and more states could soon follow suit.
Color additives have long been used in food production throughout the U.S. and the world, and many are approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Some dyes, particularly Red Dye 3, have been a cause of concern for food safety experts and consumers because of their supposed links to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD.
Following California, nine other states currently have legislation in the works that would ban some types of food dyes and other additives.
These are:
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- Illinois – Red Dye 3
- Maryland – Red Dye 3
- Missouri – Red Dye 3
- New Jersey – Red Dye 3
- New York – Red Dye 3
- Pennsylvania – Red Dye 3, Red Dye 40, Yellow Dye 5, Yellow Dye 6, Blue Dye 1 and Blue Dye 2
- Rhode Island – Red Dye 3
- South Dakota – Red Dye 3
- Washington – Red Dye 3
- West Virginia – Red Dye 3
FDA to Test for More Dangerous Mold in Food
Federal food safety inspectors will test for more types of dangerous mold and fungus, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Sept. 26.
The FDA said it would now monitor more toxins arising from mold and fungus in human food, specifically T-2/HT-2 toxins and zearalenone.
T-2/HT-2 toxins are so-called mycotoxins found in contaminated grains, such as wheat, rye, oat, and barley, which can cause high fever, gastrointestinal problems and hemorrhage, the FDA said.
Zearalenone is another mycotoxin that can cause reproductive issues that has appeared in contaminated grains, such as corn, oats, wheat, sorghum and rice.
Contamination from the molds generally happens when foods are improperly stored or dried.
Dutch Approval of Glyphosate Pesticide Was Influenced by Controversial U.S. Expert
The Dutch pesticide authority, CTGB, based its statement that herbicide glyphosate is not carcinogenic partly on publications by a statistician, Kenny Crump.
The American has previously worked for asbestos, diesel, and lead industries, according to an investigation by Zembla.
This determination led to glyphosate being approved for use again in Nov. 2023 for another 10-year period.
Zembla has further found that Crump recently worked for glyphosate manufacturer Bayer.
This conflict of interest, however, was not mentioned in the CTGB’s approval report, the news program reported.
In its approval report, CTGB stated that tumors found in animals exposed to chemicals could be due to “chance.” This was a determination based on a publication by Crump.
CTGB further cited another Crump study to argue that population studies linking cancer risk to farmers might not be reliable.
“This is a man who has defended benzene and asbestos,” said Naomi Oreskes, a professor of the history of science at Harvard University. “These are substances that have been definitively proven to cause cancer,” she told Zembla.
