Many of the products banned in Europe but are still legal and in full use among foods in the United States are related to food dyes. While you may be thinking, that’s fine, you don’t eat food dyes, they are actually found in more foods that you can imagine.
Take dye Blue #1 and Blue #2, which is often found in beverages, pet foods, candy and even healthy food items like Nutrigrain bars. Think about your children or grandchildren and think about how many times you may spoil them with a handful of the chocolate-shelled candy M&Ms from Mars. The food dye, Blue #2, has been linked to long-term hyperactivity among children. So what you think is simply a candy sugar rush is actually hyperactivity caused by the artificial color of what you’re feeding them.
Other studies, although up for much debate among scientists have completed studies noting that Blue #2 dye was related to a significant increase in brain cancers. While this particular study was completed on rats and rabbits and no official study has been linked to Blue #2 causing human cancer, it is cause for suspect. Yet, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given Blue #2 its blessing and has deemed it “safe.”
It seems that due to a lack of funding and a lack of employees (which is currently at one third of where it has been previously) at the FDA, which is the federal regulatory body in place to review, approve or deny use of products that hit our grocery store shelves, is causing more items to be placed on our shelves and in our homes than ever before.
Additionally, Yellow #5 and Yellow #6, banned in countries such as Norway, have been recorded as causing genotoxicity. While not necessarily a condition, the IOSR Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences describes genotoxicity as “defined in genetics as a destructive effect on a cell’s genetic material affecting its integrity.”
Red No. 40 and Red No. 3 have been linked to the most instances of potential dangers and have been banned in Europe. The Red dyes have been linked to digestive sensitivity in individuals, similar to that of Yellow No. 5 found in macaroni and cheese, but this particular dye has also been linked to an increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This condition, which causes an individual to focus and be in control, is often found as a diagnosis for children.
Nearly 40 years ago, Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which is “administered” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the act introduced to “regulate chemicals that are new or in use.” While this was seen by many as a step in the right direction, unfortunately, all chemicals that were already in use from 1976 and prior were grandfathered in as allowed to be used.
What this means for you is that even when you think you’re consuming healthy foods, your government is more concerned with profitability on exports and imports than it is with your well-being.
If you eat cereal or even enjoy the occasional indulgence with strawberry or cherry ice cream, you’re likely also consuming red artificial dyes. Think about your jarred tomato or pizza sauce, which can, at times contain the red artificial dyes as well. Check any candies, colored snacks such as Keebler’s Cheese and Peanut Butter Crackers contain dyes.
Also items like PowerAde, Sunny D Orange or Strawberry juice and some flavors of Kool-Aid. Fruity flavored Cheerios, Skittles and, again, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese all contain food dyes that have been banned in Europe, but yet Americans are still consuming these potentially dangerous chemicals, feeding them to our children and grand-children, without any warning or governmental regulators stepping up to cease the use of these dyes.
Actually, many of the companies themselves such as Pepperidge Farm, General Mills, Chick-Fil-A, Frito-Lay and more have, in the past decade, begun to remove the dyes in their foods altogether and not because of regulator or governmental bodies, but to help provide their consumers with healthier options.
~ Health Scams Exposed
