Why the FDA Says We
Want Our Foods Artificially Colored

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by Shula Edelkind, parent of a formerly-hyperactive child

There I was …. Waiting for my sandwich to be put together at the WalMart Blimpies, when I noticed their Cola Icee machine … and their other colorful flavors of icees named Peach, Cherry, and Blue Strawberry.

BLUE STRAWBERRY?

Is it related to the BLUE RASPBERRY popsicle I saw earlier?

It reminded me of a paragraph in the old FDA page on colors (since removed) about why it is SO IMPORTANT to colorize our food. About half-way down the page, they say: (my notes in italics)

Color variation in foods throughout the seasons and the effects of food processing and storage often require that manufacturers add color to certain foods to meet consumer expectations. The primary reasons of adding colors to foods include: To offset color loss due to exposure to light, air, extremes of temperature, moisture and storage conditions. (Isn't this "masking inferior quality" which is disallowed by Point 2 below?? ) To correct natural variations in color. Off-colored foods are often incorrectly associated with inferior quality. For example, some tree-ripened oranges are often sprayed with Citrus Red No.2 to correct the natural orangy-brown or mottled green color of their peels (Masking inferior quality, however, is an unacceptable use of colors.) (How about educating the consumer instead of deceiving him? In other countries, people do not expect their fruits to look like plastic.) To enhance colors that occur naturally but at levels weaker than those usually associated with a given food. (Again, this is a problem of expectations created by marketers and solved by chemists. Example: Farm-raised salmon with little omega-3 are fed coloring so their meat will look like the omega-3 rich red meat of wild salmon . . . masking inferior quality again.) To provide a colorful identity to foods that would otherwise be virtually colorless. Red colors provide a pleasant identity to strawberry ice while lime sherbet is known by its bright green color. (Strawberry ice would not be colorless IF THEY USED ANY ACTUAL STRAWBERRIES in it. And lime juice is NOT green.) To provide a colorful appearance to certain "fun foods." Many candies and holiday treats are colored to create a festive appearance. (It's quite possible to have fun, festive foods using natural coloring. The choice of cheaper petroleum-based coloring lowers the manufacturing cost and has a longer shelf-life.) To protect flavors and vitamins that may be affected by sunlight during storage. (Here we go, masking deteriorating products again. Why can't flavors and vitamins be protected by packaging materials, rather than disguised by coloring?) To provide an appealing variety of wholesome and nutritious foods that meet consumers' demands. (When did consumers demand that food be allowed to appear more wholesome than it really is? When did they demand that "blueberry" poptarts* be filled with a blue-colored gel and only 2% fruit? Or that "strawberries-and-cream" oatmeal** be made with (cheaper) apple pieces dyed red and no strawberries at all?)

Well, now . . . although strawberry ice would not be colorless IF THEY USED ANY ACTUAL STRAWBERRIES in it, today's kids don't even know what color a strawberry is! Apparently, they are happy to drink BLUE strawberry-flavored stuff.

So much for the need for "identity."

If you do a risk-benefit analysis, you can see that obviously the benefit is totally for the manufacturer - while the risk is totally ours. Here's how that works: Since the FDA allows colors (both natural and synthetic) to be added to our foods, who gets the benefit when artificial, cheaper, petroleum-based coloring is used, and who takes the risk?

• The benefit - higher prices for products using lower quality ingredients.

• The risks - illness and/or difficulty with behavior and learning.

That's why I'm so glad the Feingold Association works so hard to identify and list the higher quality, natural products. And I'm so glad to be a part of this effort over the past 25 years.

5/04/10

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** Ingredients: Kellogg's Poptarts
** Ingredients: Quaker Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal