The Center for Science in the Public Interest has petitioned FDA to ban the two most commonly used artificial food dyes, Yellow 5 and Red 40, along with six others, citing studies that linked them to behavioral problems in children.
 
The other dyes include Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Orange B, Red 3 and Yellow 6. The non-profit organization argues that these dyes should be prohibited from use in foods, claiming more research supports the idea they exacerbate hyperactivity.

CSPI’s petition asks FDA to require a warning label on foods with artificial dyes while it considers the group’s request to ban them altogether. CSPI also wants FDA to correct the information it presents to parents on its website about the impact of artificial food colorings on behavior. Nineteen psychiatrists, toxicologists and pediatricians joined CSPI, co-signing a letter that urges Congress to hold hearings on artificial food dyes and behavior, and to fund an Institute of Medicine research project on the issue.

While controversy regarding potential risks posed by food coloring dates back several decades, CSPI cites a recent Southampton University study—funded by the British government—involving about 200 children. The study found a statistically significant link between hyperactive behavior and the consumption of certain artificial colors, including Red 40 and Yellow 5.

Along with the Southampton study and a second report funded by the British government, a comprehensive 2004 meta-analysis of medical literature also concluded that artificial dyes (as well as the preservative sodium benzoate) adversely affect child behavior. Unlike most previous ones, those British studies tested children in the general population, not those whose parents suspected they were sensitive to dyes. As a result, the British government is successfully pressuring food manufacturers to switch to safer colorings.

“The science shows that kids’ behavior improves when these artificial colorings are removed from their diets and worsens when they’re added to their diets,” said Dr. David Schab, a psychiatrist at Columbia University Medical Center, who conducted the 2004 meta-analysis with colleague Dr. Nhi-Ha Trinh. “While not all children seem to be sensitive to these chemicals, it’s hard to justify their continued use in foods—especially those foods heavily marketed to young children.”

The U.K. Food Standards Agency recommended that food manufacturers stop using several artificial colors by the end of 2009. It also called for the U.K. to lobby for a ban across Europe.

But artificial dyes are ubiquitous in the U.S., and exposure has risen sharply with the prevalence of sugary cereals, candies, snacks and sodas marketed for children. Notably, versions of many popular products sold in the U.S. contain artificial colors, whereas those sold in the U.K. contain natural ones.

“The continued use of these unnecessary artificial dyes is the secret shame of the food industry and the regulators who watch over it,” said CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson. “The purpose of these chemicals is often to mask the absence of real food, to increase the appeal of a low-nutrition product to children, or both. Who can tell the parents of kids with behavioral problems that this is truly worth the risk?”