By Kara Pifer
In the grocery store, there are shelves upon shelves of items waiting for you to purchase and consume. Many of these products look so appetizing and colorful that you seem drawn to them like a moth to a flame. These items are appealing and may end up in your reusable grocery bag based solely on how pretty they are. In many cases, it is not the bright colors of natural fruits and vegetables that draws consumers in, it is the colors of processed foods and candies. How do these processed foods get so colorful? After the ingredients have been cooked and sent through the manufacturing process, they should not hold an extremely bright color naturally. In order to entice consumers, the foods must look appetizing and since color seems to be an attractive agent, food manufacturers add in artificial coloring to increase sales. So now the question is what do these dyes do to your body?These artificially colored processed foods and candies have an effect on the majority of consumers, especially young adults and children. It has been suggested that the dyes cause some behavioral issues in children. Previously these claims have been ignored by most manufacturers who have even said that the dyes are ‘safe for consumption.’ They may technically be safe, meaning after consumption you will not contract a disease or have a heart attack due to the product, but is there an effect on your body? It seems so! The Center for Science in Public Interest has been making their data more known. It seems that the dyes trigger hyperactivity in kids and even adults who are predisposed to that type of behavior. Since hyperactivity is usually associated with ADHD, which affects around 5% of the United States population, this may help calm the behavior of many Americans affected by the disorder.
This upcoming week, the FDA will hear from a panel of outside experts on the topic and discuss whether changes will be put in place. By outside experts I mean these are not employees of the FDA. Proposed changes include the removal of artificial coloring and dyes from all foods on grocery store shelves. A change such as this could take months or even years to completely take effect, but it may have a monumental impact on consumerism in our country. If foods, especially less healthful choices, remove the artificial coloring without adding natural colors, will they be less appealing? Probably, and if they are less appealing, less consumers may buy them which means they may shift to eating more appealing naturally colored foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables. This may help lighten up America! On the other hand, with less processed products being sold, individuals working for those companies may be laid off due to low revenue. This could make a very negative impact on the workers for these companies. Hopefully, before the situation would progress to that magnitude, the company will discover a way to make the food more naturally appealing to consumers so they can keep their employees employed.
While reading through news articles concerning this topic, I actually found myself surprised at a tidbit of information. Every article highlights a few products that are colored by artificial dyes and I had not planned on finding anything that I had not already heard. One of the products listed in an article was cheese, which of course is my absolute favorite food. I don’t enjoy eating the overly processed “cheese product” or American cheese, but I do have to admit that sharp cheddar holds a very dear place in my heart (and my stomach). I really did think it was naturally that color! According to one article, the majority of cheese is naturally a very pale color, but with artificial coloring it is transformed into a bright orange in many cases. This color is a signature of dishes such as broccoli cheese soup, traditional grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese. Kids who regularly eat these items may not even try a grilled cheese sandwich with a pale cream color of cheese if they are used to their American cheese, even if it tastes exactly the same! Assuming that I know about as much as the average consumer if not more, there are probably others that would be surprised by the amount of food dye found in foods within our grocery stores.
Why do companies choose to use food dyes in their food rather than using natural food coloring agents? The natural colors, besides possible allergic reactions to those with allergies or intolerances to the product, seem to have no downside. They would be more natural products and would possibly provide more nutrients depending on the item being colored. In our profession, many clients come to us for advice on healthy options at the grocery store. Changing regulations on food production by limiting or eliminating use of artificial food coloring may open up more options for recommending to clients. Providing more healthy options within a store will allow those looking to change their diet a wider variety and those not concerned with their diet will benefit by inadvertently putting less artificial ingredients into their bodies.
If knowledge continues to expand on the connection between artificial ingredients and behavior or other health related issues, will companies change production techniques? Will less artificial products be on the market for purchase? Personally, I hope so. Although I do not consider myself a complete natural food buyer, I do choose the natural product if I have the choice and the cost difference isn’t too great. I would love to have more choices when it comes to natural foods and I am sure that there are many others out there that feel similar. According to one article, some companies have already began promoting the end of artificial color and artificial flavor use for many of their products. Frito-Lay is one of these companies, declaring that more than 60 of its snack products are already clean of all artificial colors and flavors. I think that this is wonderful and hope that more companies will follow in their path.
Is there a link between behavior and artificial food dyes? It seems that there is, but is that enough for the FDA to approve the removal of all artificial food dyes? Personally, I hope so, but until next week or even longer, we will not know for sure. Even if changes are made, we as consumers may not see any differences until months or even years from now. Many production techniques and recipes for products would need to change which would be difficult for many companies. Those with hundreds of products will have a big project ahead of them if changes go into effect. This may provide jobs, especially for Dietitians and other nutrition experts. What can we as consumers do? For now, we have to wait and hope that the panel of experts provides enough evidence to make changes.
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