Florida resident Deb Bostock-Kelley has been closely reading food labels for years. It started when she noticed strange symptoms in her daughter.
“She would have welts all over her body,” said Bostock-Kelley.
She couldn’t figure out what was causing them until she took her daughter to get tested for allergies.
“When she had to go through that and have all the little pin things put on a child to find out that it was Red Dye 40 that was causing her all these incidences, it was just, it broke my heart that she had to go through this,” said Bostock-Kelley.
After she got answers, she started paying attention to food labels so she wouldn’t buy anything with Red No. 40 in it.
“You do not realize how many things that this is in,” said Bostock-Kelley.
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That was several years ago, and to this day, she still avoids artificial food dyes. So when she heard the federal government is making an effort to remove them from our food supply, she was thrilled.
“I think it’s phenomenal,” said Bostock-Kelley.
In January, the FDA announced it was banning the use of Red No. 3 in food and drugs. Now, the U.S. Department of Health along with the FDA are looking to revoke authorization for two synthetic food colorings, Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B within the coming months.
They’re also working with the food industry to eliminate six other synthetic dyes — FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Blue No. 1, and FD&C Blue No. 2 — from the food supply by the end of next year. The dyes are used in things like cereal, candy, and yogurt.
Dr. David Berger, a pediatrician at Wholistic Pediatrics & Family Care, told the Scripps News Group that he’s very supportive of this.
“These are synthetic," he said. "They’re made from petroleum, and there’s absolutely no nutritional benefit to them whatsoever."
Health experts said there’s growing evidence that certain dyes could be linked to potential health risks, particularly in children.
“The concern is the research that’s come out that there may be some relationship to neurodevelopmental disorders,” said Berger.
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The Scripps News Group spoke about these potential risks with Lauri Wright, associate professor and director of nutrition programs for the University of South Florida College of Public Health.
“These include hyperactivity or behavioral symptoms, some allergic reactions, and in the case of Red 3, some links between cancer in animal studies,” said Wright.
While this is important, experts believe many of these side effects aren’t widespread, so people shouldn’t panic.
“The health effects of food dyes tend to occur over time and really more in sensitive individuals,” said Wright.
As part of this new effort, the FDA is also working to authorize four natural food colorings. In the meantime, doctors encourage people to read grocery store labels and avoid ultra-processed foods.
“It’s always going to be a benefit to move to more whole, minimally processed, and colored foods like fruits and vegetables and whole grains. That’s going to help reduce your health risks for many, many different diseases,” said Wright.
This story was originally published by Larissa Scott with the Scripps News Group in Tampa Bay.
