Concerns On Toxicity Of Food Dyes

Some interesting questions were brought up that I was thinking of as well, questions such as, shouldn’t some of these additives be banned from usage in the foods we eat or shouldn’t they carry warning labels for users who do not know the dangers of these foods? I believe they certainly should be banned because we lived without these chemicals in our foods long ago, and we used natural flavors and colors in the previous years of humanity and according to research and studies the chemicals in the foods we consume today have obviously proven to trigger and increase the chance of getting many disorders. While reading The New York Times one of the studies mentioned and brought up was the selection of several hundreds of kids, and some kids were in a control group that received some special treatment by basically being given an additive-free placebo drink that looked and tasted the same and all of the children in the study were evaluated for inattention as well as their hyperactivity by their parents, teachers as well as a computer test and in this study neither the researchers nor the subject knew which drink the children had consumed. In conclusion of the study the researchers discovered that the kids were significantly more

Most Americans love the low cost, prepackaged, great tasting food that is convenient to buy and prepare. These prepackaged or processed foods are normally made to be faster, cheaper and usually taste great but they are loaded with bizarre, unpronounceable chemicals that, if you saw them in their pre-processed state, you would never consider putting in your mouth. Emulsifiers, preservatives, colorants, stabilizers, artificial sweeteners, texturizers and even bleach can be found in most processed foods. On average, Americans spend 90% of their food budget on these types of foods which is found to contribute to the leading causes of obesity, auto immune disease, diabetes and even cancer.

The state of the American Health in the U.S has become an increasing concern of many Americans. An article entitled “11 Facts about American Eating Habits,” addresses the state of food in the U.S by stating, “Healthiness of the food we eat decreases by 1.7 percent for every hour that passes in the day.” Experts and scientists in the U.S has raised questions about regarding the different ways food is now being produced. While individuals are usually not aware of the ingredients that food contains, many people continue to have unhealthy eating habits. In the past few decades, food production has included numerous artificial ingredients that are said to be the cause of various health problems. Various artificial ingredients that are commonly

An innocent child is standing in a candy store and looking at all his favorite options from which to choose. He slowly reaches for the bag of M&Ms, and he does not know what all the chemicals in that bag will cause him. The M&Ms have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) causing carcinogens in them called food dyes. These food additives help the food products stay vibrant and eye catching but America’s youth does not know what the consequences are when you eat these products. Children think they are nice and colorful but they do not know what lies behind the wonderful rainbow of colored M&Ms in that bag. That is why The United States needs to ban food color additives to make our nation healthier. The main points on food dyes are the problems they cause, the counter argument against them and the steps the country can take to solve these problems.

David Zinczenko's article "Don't Blame the Eater" discuses with regard to a series of health-related topics involving food that most people and, particularly, young individuals eat today. The article is meant to raise public awareness concerning the risks associated with consuming particular foods. These respective risks are generally ignored because companies selling the products refrain from emphasizing the exact effects that consuming their food can have on someone's health. The reality is that cheap foods are an appealing alternative for young people who are more concerned about the quantity than the quality of the foods they eat.

From a historical perspective it was intriguing to discover how dyes affected the hierarchy in the ancient world. The repeated use of dyes represented a transition in humanity from simple hunting and gathering societies; to well developed structured governments and economies where people focused less on survival and more on status. Colors in ancient times represented political, military, and social status. Without the discovery of dyes kings would be clothed just like the normal people giving them a less godly appearance and less power. Even today certain connotations exist with colors like black for evil white for good, etc... The authors include this essay to demonstrate man’s first foray into chemistry by mixing and blending dyes to create more extravagant colors to sell. The lust for colorful clothes drove vendors to create more eccentric dyes, thereby forcing them to utilize experimental chemistry to create new shades and hues. The book here focuses too much on the historical aspects. I can see the relationship but it is weak and describing the chemical make up of colors doesn’t explain why it relates to history.

If you knew your hamburger was made of ammonia-treated “pink slime” would you still eat it? Probably not, right? Sadly, that’s still a problem many kids around America have to deal with almost every afternoon in their school’s cafeteria. This is just one of many reasons that schools should invest in better tasting and healthier food for kids. This change could reduce obesity rates in young kids and lead them to better eating habits in their futures. Better food will also give schools better profits and better reputations that make more people want to go to the improved schools. It is also scientifically proven that good food at school can help improve test scores. This change would allow kids to stay more alert, take less sick days, and stay

Lunchables, Twinkies, potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, or even a trip to McDonald’s after school are just few of the memorable foods as a child that always seemed so exciting and delicious. As a child, I wondered why these scrumptious foods were always just a treat, but never an every day meal on my diet that I could enjoy. But what I did not know was the dirty truth behind these foods: what they are really made out of. Behind food corporation doors lies the truth about processed foods,

You can have the most fantastic, nutritious thing in the world, but if it looks bad and smells bad, you're not going to eat it"(37). Brominated vegetable oil is used to make the food dye stick to liquids like sports drinks or citrus-flavored sodas. However, when not utilized in drinks, Bromine helps to prevent carpets from catching on fire. The chemical is known for causing major organ system damage, birth defects, growth problems, schizophrenia, and hearing loss and is banned in over 100 countries (Perez). The food industries refuse to label the warning signs of these products. The list of ingredients on a Gatorade bottle is so long that people do not take the time to read and understand them all. It should be up to the food companies to help Americans know what they are putting in their bodies. Chemicals like Azodicarbonamide, which is used to bleach both flour and foamed plastic, is too complicated of a name for people to understand. It can be found in most bread and is known to induce asthma, but American companies still process it (Kim). In response to an article that addressed the list of banned food, Julie Jones, author of Food Safety, wrote "all of the ingredients on the list pose a potential danger to consumers and we feel the consumer should be made aware so that they can make an informed decision as to whether or not they want to buy a product with these

There are varied arguments that favor or are against compulsory labeling of genetically engineered food products. Those who argue for the labeling of such products argue that consumers have a right to know what is contained in their food, particularly food products for which there have been health and environmental concerns (Caswell 26). Compulsory labeling will permit consumers to identify and avoid those food products that may cause them problems. On the contrary, those who argue against mandatory labeling point out that

In order for a synthetic food dye to be used, it must first be tested and approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In

Food additives can be found in lots of food that most people consume. Although food additives can make our food look delicious and even taste better, they contain many dangerous chemicals that may affect our health. Food additives can cause health problems in a person’s lifestyle. Many people do not realize the harm it can cause to their bodies. There are many problems, but also solutions to this situation. The solutions to this situation are: stay away from all kinds of additives, do not eat food that are preservatives, read the labels carefully, and find the FDA signs.

Recently, parents began to swap out sugary cereals for ones that claimed to “contain less sugar” and filled their pantries with snacks that had “less artificial additives” (Kellogg Company). What parents may not know is that some of these substitute foods, like Welch’s reduced sugar fruit snacks, and fat-free turkey, are not nutritious and actually contain more sodium than the daily requirement, are highly processed, loaded with even more sugars, fats, and chemicals like diacetyl than the original product. (Jacques). It is no secret that processed foods are harmful and unhealthy for us, nevertheless, processed products dominate natural food in America’s kitchens and cafeterias. Our country needs to see strict regulations for school lunches that are FDA

nowadays, people do not know what they are eating. The majority of most Americans would not be able to pronounce the names of the ingredients listed on the package of the last snack food they consumed. Consumers “ignore certain critical questions about the quality and the cost of what they are sold: How fresh is it? How clean or pure is it, how free of dangerous chemicals? … When the food has been manufactured or “processed” or “precooked,” how has that affected its quality or price or nutritional value?” (Berry, 24) It is of utmost importance that we understand what the food that lines the grocery store shelves is actually

Throughout the years, there has been an incredible amount of speculation as to what ingredients are being put into the food we consume. The same food manufactured by major food corporations that can only be approved by the FDA. There are many techniques that these food corporations can use in order to gain consumer loyalty, but the main focus is the way their advertising works. Along with these advertisements, comes a target market as well. The food industry is constantly in speculation because there are always new foods that corporations want approved to sell. Some of these businesses are part of the fast food industry and others are international food companies that sell their products around the world. As adults and parents, we need to