April 8, 2011 – A group of American experts – commissioned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – ruled that scientific evidence was insufficient to establish a link between food colors and hyperactivity in children.
The 14 experts therefore voted by a narrow majority against adding a warning on food products containing dyes. However, they almost unanimously recommended that the FDA conduct additional studies on the health effects of artificial colors.
The US federal agency decided to look into the issue after receiving a 2008 petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). This consumer advocacy group wants 8 food colors to be banned, including Yellow 5 and Red 40.
What about the “caramel” coloring in coca-cola?
The CSPI has also called on the Canadian federal government to ban the artificial coloring “caramel” used in brown or black soft drinks, such as coca-cola.
According to CSPI, experts from US Toxicologists and The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment recently concluded that the production of caramel color with ammonia contains 2 carcinogens. The CSPI believes that these artificial additives do not provide any nutritional benefit to food.
Carole Boulé – PasseportSanté.net