Does the food color cause cancer, ADHD? Studies show a link with health problems

The Secretary of the United States of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said on Tuesday that he had ordered food companies to withdraw eight oil-based coloring from their products.

Speaking alongside the FDA and food activists, Kennedy said that brands will have until 2027 to voluntarily reformulate their food and drinks using natural dyes such as carmine, turmeric and beets – or add warning labels to their products.

This decision comes three months after the Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA) prohibited Red 3, shortly before the Trump administration took office.

The eight colors under control are today Citrus Red No 2 and Orange B, which are not widely produced. These two should be abandoned with immediate effect, said the FDA commissioner, Dr. Martin Makary.

Others are more commonly used. Red 40 is used in Gatorade, Doritos and Skittles. Yellow 5 is used in Vito saffron rice, fruit curls and certain mustards. Blue 1 is used in Mountain Dew Baja Blast. Green 3 is used in Nyquil.

The advantage of using these oil -based dyes is economical – they are cheaper, stable all year round and less subject to discoloration than fruits, vegetables and spices. Hydrocarbons, extracted during oil refinement, are merged with salts to create a vibrant color.

However, consumer defenders and researchers have raised concerns about health risks.

Kennedy, who has made synthetic food colors a central concern in his 2024 presidential campaign, thanked “war mothers who fuel the Maha movement” for having galvanized the political appetite for this change.

During the press conference, Makary said that “children lived in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals”. He has cited studies that have found links between synthetic food colors and health problems such as ADHD and cancer.

Here is what we know about the link between synthetic food dyes and health problems:

The science of food and ADHDs

Kennedy has repeatedly said that he believed that artificial food dyes cause ADHD in children.

More than a decade ago, American and European regulators reviewed the same evidence connecting synthetic food colors to ADHD in children – but they drawn different conclusions.

The EU concluded that the evidence was convincing. Since then, many European brands have rather started using natural dyes. Products containing synthetic dyes must display a TDAH warning for consumers.

The FDA, however, said that more research was needed to justify a change. (To date, no federal study has been conducted.)

A decade later, in 2021, researchers from California EPA reviewed the evidence available on seven artificial food colors. They have concluded that synthetic dyes can affect behavior in some children. California Governor Gavin Newsom responded, ordering food companies to withdraw collation coloring in public schools by 2027.

The big question is: why would the dyes have an impact on children’s behavior?

Scientists do not know with certainty, because there are no randomized large -scale control tests. A study revealed that it might have something to do with the way food colors interact with histamine. Another study has revealed that the red dye probably does not have a huge influence on the children’s brain, but that seems to fuel hyperactivity in the short term.

There may be a genetic factor at stake. British researchers have found evidence that some children seem to be more sensitive to the effects of food coloring than others, on the basis of their genes.

Some dyes in the food system have been linked to cancer

In the late 1980s, scientists found masculine laboratory rats exposed to high levels of thyroid tumors developed red 3.

Based on this study, the FDA declared Rouge 3 carcinogenic in 1990 and announced the prohibition of dye in cosmetics.

However, it took 30 years to see a ban on red 3 in food. The dye remained in food and drinks, partly due to lobbying of the maraschon cherry industry, which awaits many cherry producing states.

Earlier this year, driven by the public’s request, the FDA of administration Biden influenced a RED 3 ban in food and drinks, giving food companies until 2027 to eliminate the coloring.

“The FDA cannot authorize a food additive or a color additive if it has been noted to cause cancer in humans or animals,” said Jim Jones, then deputy director of the FDA for human food, in a statement when it announced the ban in January.

Consumer defenders have pressure for the prohibitions of other dyes, expressing concerns about the risk of cancer.

A review published in 2012 linked Red 40 to several cancers. The FDA tests carried out in the early 1990s concluded that certain lots of yellow 5 and yellow 6 were contaminated by carcinogens such as benzidine. The agency said the risk is too low to justify its concern.

Less evidence for other health problems

Beyond ADHD and cancer, Makary said that oil-based food colors are linked to allergic reactions in children. This is based on a few studies that have found dyes like Red 40 and Yellow 5 can cause hives in some people.

Makary also said that synthetic dyes can be linked to insulin, genomic disturbances and gastrointestinal problems. Evidence is limited to tests in petri boxes and animals, and other research is necessary in humans. Here is what we know so far:

• A 2013 study revealed that red 40 disturbed the metabolism of glucose in rats.
• A 2012 study revealed that yellow 5 has caused DNA disturbances in human blood cells.
• A 2022 study revealed that red 40 caused a colitis in mice.

“For companies that currently use these dyes, try watermelon juice,” said Makary at the press conference, holding a bottle of juice.