Current Events > Let's talk about food colorings

(+) Yeah! (+)

As a British person, I was recently very alarmed when my girlfriend bought some American candy online. Here in the UK, candy (although we simply call them "sweets") is fairly simple. To our eyes, American candy looks incredible and imaginative. I had no idea that "birthday cake" could be a flavour.

When her candy came, I started to read the ingredients...

I was more than horrified. The ingredient listing for some Mrs Freshley's cakes read like a compendium of poisons. Compared to similar products available in the UK, I would guess US products have an average of triple the ingredients. For example further reading told me that while British McDonald's fries contain four ingredients, the American equivalent contains nineteen ingredients - one of these was just to "enhance the colour" of the fries.

Reading further into the food colourings used, I found out that research on most of them are inconclusive with some evidence to suggest carcinogenic effects. There has been actions taken to ban some of them, but the FDA has overturned them.

How do you guys feel about colourings, as Americans? Is it well known that the FDA is corrupt?

It's really sad to me knowing that if these ingredients were banned, some people wouldn't go on to develop cancer or other issues.
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Let's talk about food colorings
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EU teeth
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I prefer foods with natural colorings. My kids don't need that junk. And I don't like the taste of red dye.

I do know some people have allergies to one of the common natural colorings, though. Maybe turmeric? Or annatto?
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I'm allergic to red #40
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Not banning the colourings suggests that there is insufficient evidence of carcinogenic effects. In order for something to be banned, it has to be repeatable on a large scale. A dozen or so isolated cases, out of a sample size of millions is not sufficient cause for action.
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