Controversy: Food Dye
Human beings searching for truth is so fascinating. An act that's been going on since the beginning of time, as though there is one all encompassing truth, rather than a different one for each of us. A search that has become so volatile since the invention of social media.
I'm writing this to explain a little bit of the controversy surrounding food dye chemicals.
To start, this is how food dyes are made:
- Extracting
aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum.
- Creating
amines (like aniline) from these hydrocarbons.
- Nitrating
the compound to form nitro compounds.
- Reducing
the nitro compound back to an amine.
- Diazotization
to form a diazonium salt.
- Coupling
the diazonium salt with another compound to form the azo bond (N=N),
creating the dye.
- Purifying
and packaging the dye.
There are many of them, but the ones found in food are usually:
Blue 1
Blue 2
Blue 2
Citrus red 2
Green 3
Orange B
Red 3
Red 40
Yellow 5
Yellow 6
There are a few different side effects of consumption, so we will divide them into the two different camps.
1 - Cancer-causing.
Many, if not all of these dyes were shown to cause cancer in high doses in animal studies. It makes sense, they are made of benzene. However, the dose is so high that scientists have determined the risk to humans is extremely low which is why they are in everything from cereal to ice cream to ADHD medication.
The type of cancer depends on the colour.
Red = Thyroid cancer.
Blue = Brain cancer.
Yellow = Kidney and testicular cancer
Green = Bladder and testicular cancer
Scientists that fear these risks believe the reason is that the artificial dyes may be contaminated with such cancer-causing substances as benzidine and 4-aminobiphenyl (or chemicals that the body converts to those substances).
Other scientists believe no risk exists, or a very low risk exists for the general population. These are the scientists the government tend to side with.
All of the above is why red 3 was recently banned by the FDA. Not so much banned as, their approval was rescinded due to public pressure, and scientific studies that have proved it's the MOST carcinogenic of all the colours. It was the low hanging fruit. The others will be a bit more difficult to rescind due to cancer-causing evidence.
2. Neurobehavioural Effects.
These effects are not the reason for any banning or rescinding. These effects are harder to prove, because they do not affect ALL children, they only affect a certain subset of children. Specifically, the children affected are usually those diagnosed with ADHD, a learning disability.
The extent to which these effects destroy the emotional, social and development of the child have not been proven in any official way, nor documented in any sort of scientific study because it's difficult to show and does not translate properly into the setting of short-term studies.
I believe that all forms of knowledge—observational, social, and behavioral—are critical to enhancing science-informed decision-making. This is the knowledge being resisted by Health Canada, despite many letters being written by parents like me, showcasing the harms these effects have on Canadian children with learning disabilities. I believe this is against their human rights.
Health Canada has said these effects, despite being shown in scientific studies, will not be the reason these dyes will be eliminated. Only the proof they cause cancer is proof enough, and even that, isn't enough.
So that's it.
My goal is to show them that the neurobehavioural effects of food dye effects the mental health of these children, and we are a country suffering from a mental health emergency.
To Dye For: The Documentary showcases several stories of children who suffered from this for years before their parents determined the cause was an ingredient in their medicine and food.
Here it is:
https://www.todyeforthedocumentary.com/
There are a few different side effects of consumption, so we will divide them into the two different camps.
1 - Cancer-causing.
Many, if not all of these dyes were shown to cause cancer in high doses in animal studies. It makes sense, they are made of benzene. However, the dose is so high that scientists have determined the risk to humans is extremely low which is why they are in everything from cereal to ice cream to ADHD medication.
The type of cancer depends on the colour.
Red = Thyroid cancer.
Blue = Brain cancer.
Yellow = Kidney and testicular cancer
Green = Bladder and testicular cancer
Scientists that fear these risks believe the reason is that the artificial dyes may be contaminated with such cancer-causing substances as benzidine and 4-aminobiphenyl (or chemicals that the body converts to those substances).
Other scientists believe no risk exists, or a very low risk exists for the general population. These are the scientists the government tend to side with.
All of the above is why red 3 was recently banned by the FDA. Not so much banned as, their approval was rescinded due to public pressure, and scientific studies that have proved it's the MOST carcinogenic of all the colours. It was the low hanging fruit. The others will be a bit more difficult to rescind due to cancer-causing evidence.
2. Neurobehavioural Effects.
These effects are not the reason for any banning or rescinding. These effects are harder to prove, because they do not affect ALL children, they only affect a certain subset of children. Specifically, the children affected are usually those diagnosed with ADHD, a learning disability.
The extent to which these effects destroy the emotional, social and development of the child have not been proven in any official way, nor documented in any sort of scientific study because it's difficult to show and does not translate properly into the setting of short-term studies.
I believe that all forms of knowledge—observational, social, and behavioral—are critical to enhancing science-informed decision-making. This is the knowledge being resisted by Health Canada, despite many letters being written by parents like me, showcasing the harms these effects have on Canadian children with learning disabilities. I believe this is against their human rights.
Health Canada has said these effects, despite being shown in scientific studies, will not be the reason these dyes will be eliminated. Only the proof they cause cancer is proof enough, and even that, isn't enough.
So that's it.
My goal is to show them that the neurobehavioural effects of food dye effects the mental health of these children, and we are a country suffering from a mental health emergency.
To Dye For: The Documentary showcases several stories of children who suffered from this for years before their parents determined the cause was an ingredient in their medicine and food.
Here it is:
https://www.todyeforthedocumentary.com/
Comments