So it seems that science has finally caught up with parental intuition. As a parent whose kids rarely have food coloring (if I can help it), watching my child’s behaviour after they consume a lolly with coloring as a prime ingredient instinctively tells me that they are not healthy.
If you are a parent whose child goes bananas after eating something that has food coloring in it then you will probably identify with the report from Center for Science in the Public Interest’s findings. The CSPI found in studies on food coloring that it causes hyperactivity in children but more alarmingly, is linked to allergies and cancer.
Artificial Food Colorings have been included in foods for some time, and more specifically in children’s foods as the bright colors tend to attract kids who equate color with taste. The more colourful it looks, the more sweet and tasty it must be, so says the brain.
Many parents have tended to steer away from artificial sources of color in lollies but they still seem to pop up in just about every processed food designed for kids including breakfast cereals, yoghurts, biscuits and juices. Now these latest findings determine that the food coloring is potentially carcinogenic.
Around seven million kilograms of artificial colouring is included in foods each year including Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 6, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6. Red 3 is the worst of them all, a known carcinogen that is still included in some popular supermarket shelf products.
Hopefully with this new report, consumers will be better informed and be able to make the right choices for their family’s health.