{"id":163218,"date":"2024-10-28T15:43:25","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T15:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/28\/are-synthetic-food-dyes-bad-for-you-heres-the-science\/"},"modified":"2024-10-28T15:43:25","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T15:43:25","slug":"are-synthetic-food-dyes-bad-for-you-heres-the-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/28\/are-synthetic-food-dyes-bad-for-you-heres-the-science\/","title":{"rendered":"Are synthetic food dyes bad for you? Here&#8217;s the science."},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><\/div> \r\n<br><br><div data-component=\"video-embed\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n<p>Synthetic food dyes \u2014 and their links to neurobehavioral issues in children \u2014 are having a moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last month, California governor Gavin Newsom signed the <a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2316\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California School Food Safety Act<\/a> into law, banning the state\u2019s public schools from serving or selling foods containing six synthetic food dyes starting in 2028. Earlier this month in Michigan, protests broke out in front of the Battle Creek headquarters of WK Kellogg Co., after the company drew renewed criticism for their broken <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/2015\/08\/04\/kellogg-results-idUSL1N10F20B20150804\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">commitment to remove synthetic food dyes in U.S. products<\/a>, including cereals.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<aside class=\"sn-conversion rich-text rich-text--with-sidebar\">\n<style><![CDATA[\n.email-conversion {\n  border: 1px solid #ffcccb;\n  color: white;\n  margin-top: 50px;\n  background-image: url(\"\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module@2x.jpg\");\n  padding: 20px;\n  clear: both;\n}\n\n]]><\/style>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"rich-text embedded-conversion-content is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<style><![CDATA[\n#dynamic-wrapper {\n  border: 1px solid #ffcccb;\n  background-image: url(\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sciencenews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/032624_sb_space-sugar_feat.jpg?w&#61;800&amp;ssl&#61;1\");\n  background-size: cover;\n  background-position: center center;\n  padding: 20px;\n  clear: both;\n}\n\n#dynamic-conversion {\n  padding: 20px;\n  background:rgba(0,0,0, 0.5);\n  color: white;\n}\n\n#dynamic-conversion h2 {\n  color: white;\n}\n\np.has-text-align-center a {\n  color: white !important;\n  text-decoration: none;\n  font-weight: bold;\n}\n\n]]><\/style>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"dynamic-wrapper\" class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div id=\"dynamic-conversion\" class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Tell us about your Science News experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Help us improve by taking our 15-question reader survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/aside>\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, the same dyes banned in California are still approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The agency doesn\u2019t appear to be changing course, maintaining that there isn\u2019t sufficient evidence to prove that synthetic dyes cause issues like ADHD, hyperactivity or lack of focus.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The list of foods containing synthetic food dyes is a long one. And fueling the uproar is the impossibility of discerning the risk a child has while consuming them. When federal and state guidelines aren\u2019t aligned, it can be tricky to find out what foods contain the dyes and if they should be avoided altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite limited evidence of a neurobehavioral connection, experts think some children are probably more susceptible than others. Many experts are adamant that California\u2019s act ensures safety for the state\u2019s public school students, and they hope the act could inspire other states to follow suit, forcing food manufacturers to reconfigure their recipes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s a great place to start because school is an environment where kids need to be able to focus. They need to be able to feel like they are in control of their bodies,\u201d says Melanie Benesh, vice president of government affairs for the Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit corporation that cosponsored the California School Food Safety Act. \u201cIt creates a better learning environment for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amidst this national conversation, <em>Science News<\/em> looked at how we got to this point and what the science has to say about consuming synthetic food dyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What are synthetic food dyes and why are they in our food?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Synthetic dyes add color to food. Each one has a unique molecular structure that absorbs specific frequencies of light, allowing humans to perceive a rainbow of colors in otherwise bland snacks. Beyond adding a splash of color, synthetic dyes are essentially useless. They don\u2019t help preserve food or add any nutritional value; their job is to entice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA lot of these foods are candies, cereals \u2014 things that are marketed to kids,\u201d Benesh says. When manufacturers use synthetic dye, it \u201cmakes their food more brightly colored, more attractive to kids, and I think it helps them sell their products.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What products have synthetic dyes?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Foods with synthetic dyes aren\u2019t packaged with a warning label in the United States, so sifting through individual product labels is the usually the only way to decipher exactly which food items contain which dyes. If present, synthetic dyes will be listed in the fine print of an item\u2019s ingredients list, usually as the name of a color followed by a number (like \u201cYellow 5\u201d). If you\u2019re looking to avoid dyes, here are some grocery store staples to watch out for:<\/p>\n\n\n<aside class=\"sn-conversion rich-text rich-text--with-sidebar\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-elements-27c40654034fbeecef6418d6adfe0794\" style=\"color:gray; margin-bottom:0px; font-size:.9rem;\">Sponsor Message<\/p>\n<!-- Tag ID: sciencenews-org_leaderboard_incontent -->\n\n<\/aside>\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Baked goods such as cake mix, sugar cookies and gingerbread<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Snack foods such as Pop-Tarts, Cheetos and even some dried fruits<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Candies such as M&amp;M\u2019s, Skittles and Nerds<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cereals such as Froot Loops, Trix and Lucky Charms<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Beverages and specialty drinks such as Electrolit, Pedialyte and Powerade<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not just food products that contain synthetic food dyes. Some eyeshadows, hair products and medications contain some of the dyes now banned in California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When did scientists realize that synthetic dyes might be harmful?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Synthetic dyes have a long and troubled history. Lead chromate, arsenic and additives made from coal tar were some of the first iterations, packing a poisonous punch for 19th and 20th century consumers. In 1950, dozens of children fell ill <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencenews.org\/article\/color-controversy\">after consuming Halloween candy tainted with a dangerous dye<\/a>, Orange 1 (<em>SN: 8\/12\/11<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many modern synthetic dyes were invented around the same time; five of the six dyes banned in California were FDA approved by 1931. But their potential for harm wasn\u2019t widely discussed until the mid-1970s, when the idea of a potential link between food dye and childhood hyperactivity was set loose into the public, says Mari Golub, a developmental neurotoxicologist at the University of California, Davis. A flurry of research followed, but the FDA maintained their guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, some scientists say that associations are evident. Over the past 50 or so years, a growing body of scientific research and anecdotal evidence has pointed to a link between some synthetic food dyes and neurobehavioral issues in kids, which can present as volatile moods, hyperactivity and lack of focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>So why did California ban the six synthetic dyes?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2021, California\u2019s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment <a href=\"https:\/\/oehha.ca.gov\/media\/downloads\/risk-assessment\/report\/healthefftsassess041621.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">released a report<\/a> that would help push the state to ban Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 in public schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report\u2019s authors scoured available research that investigated how synthetic food dyes affect children. They analyzed 25 clinical trial studies that compared periods of time when groups of children consumed foods colored by synthetic dyes to periods when they ate placebos. In many of the trials, parents and teachers noted any behavioral issues as they arose. The report authors eventually wrote that 16 of the studies showed a credible link between the behavioral outcomes and a child\u2019s consumption of synthetic dyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But uncovering a link doesn\u2019t mean that scientists can confirm that synthetic dyes are the direct cause of neurobehavioral issues. That\u2019s where animal studies come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Research with rats, mice and the occasional rabbit have shown a clearer connection between individual synthetic food dyes and neurobehavioral effects. Some animals exposed to synthetic dyes, like the ones banned, can become <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/6803178\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hyperactive<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0065128118300436\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">exhibit signs of memory loss<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While animal studies can be important tools for comparison, the amount of food dye given to lab rats is difficult to compare to, say, how many Red 40\u2013colored sprinkles are on a cupcake. It\u2019s hard to tally the dye in individual sprinkles, chips and cookies across a child\u2019s diet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But animal studies have shown that dyes do influence animals neurologically, and they can help scientists determine which individual dyes and doses start to create negative effects, says Mark Miller, a pediatric environmental health physician at California\u2019s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in Oakland who worked on the assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why was California\u2019s decision controversial?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not everyone is supportive of California\u2019s ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cConsistency in food regulations across states and federal agencies is critical for ensuring public confidence,\u201d says Sean Taylor, an organic and biological chemist with the International Association of Color Manufacturers in Washington, D.C. He notes that, the FDA reviewed the scientific literature like Golub\u2019s team did and concluded <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/19440049.2016.1179536\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">there was no causal link between children consuming synthetic dyes and unwanted behaviors<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s hard to be specific when talking about the danger of food dyes because there isn\u2019t that much research out there to begin with. And technically, the FDA and California\u2019s 2021 Health Assessment don\u2019t contradict each other: One finds no causal relationship; the latter finds an associative link.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because there hasn\u2019t been a study comparing one group of children with a food-dye-free diet to another group of children consuming food concentrated with individual doses of synthetic dyes, it\u2019s difficult to identify a causal relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t have the kind of data that would be gold standard causal data,\u201d says Amy Gilson, the Deputy Director for External and Legislative Affairs at California\u2019s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in Sacramento. It\u2019s unlikely that a black-and-white study will ever be published. But, Gilson says, \u201cyou don\u2019t need to have all the causal data that anyone would ever want to say, \u2018Hey, you know there\u2019s good evidence here. There\u2019s good science that points us to needing to take some action.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n<br>\r\n<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencenews.org\/article\/synthetic-food-dye-science-ban\">Source link <\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Synthetic food dyes \u2014 and their links to neurobehavioral issues in children \u2014 are having a moment. Last month, California governor Gavin Newsom signed the California School Food Safety Act into law, banning the state\u2019s public schools from serving or selling foods containing six synthetic food dyes starting in 2028. Earlier this month in Michigan, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":163219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sciencenews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/102424_SH_food-dye_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[606],"tags":[1559,11703,1720,671,252,36802],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163218"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163218"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":163220,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163218\/revisions\/163220"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}