Maryland is poised to become the first state in the nation to require food packaging to include warning labels if the product is made with certain food coloring additives that have been linked to ADHD.
"Evidence linking Red 40, Yellow 5, & other synthetic food dyes to behavioral probs in children has been mounting for 30 yrs," said David Schardt, a nutritionist from the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
European regulation, according to CSPI, are already more strict: "For instance, the syrup in a strawberry sundae from a McDonald's in the U.K. gets its red color from strawberries; in the U.S., the red color comes from synthetic Red 40. In the U.S., synthetic food dyes are common in brightly colored foods popular with children, including candies, soft drinks, breakfast cereals, & snack foods. Sometimes the sunny synthetic colors are designed to simulate fruits or vegetables, as in the case of a "Guacamole Dip" produced by Kraft, which gets its green color not from avocados but from Yellow 5, Yellow 6, & Blue 1. The "artificially flavored blueberry bits" in Aunt Jemima Blueberry Waffles are blue thanks to Red 40 & Blue 2, not blueberries. "
Which food colorings should you look out for? If Maryland's food warning bill passes, these chemical additives would bear the following warning:
Warning: The color additives in this food may cause hyperactivity & behavior problems in some children.
•Blue 1
•Blue 2
•Green 3
•Orange B
•Red 3
•Red 40
•Yellow 5
•Yellow 6
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