Until recently, I didn’t see myself as being super health conscious -- until I stumbled upon a video on TikTok.
Now this is NOT a post on how informative a social media platform is because you do have to be cautious about what you read or see online. However, the video briefly went into detail on how some very popular foods are actually BANNED in countries outside the United States because of a coloring agent called Red Dye #40.
The video even mentioned that the United Kingdom went as far as stating coloring agents such as Red #40, Yellow #6, Yellow #5 and Blue #1 are illegal.
This is where, of course, the paralegal in me became interested and did some researching. I found an article written by a doctor named Dr. Tania Dempsey, an expert in chronic disease and autoimmune disorders, which was published on July 28, 2020, titled, “Is food coloring toxic?”.
Within the article, she explains the potential health risks behind Red #40, what it is made of, symptoms of food dye allergies and even a list of natural alternatives to toxic food coloring. I took it a step further and began searching online for food brands that contain Red Dye #40 and found a website that indexes various foodsfrom baked goods, dairy products, candy, drinks, snacks and drugs/medicine. It was sort of alarming to see how many foods I had in my pantry at the time or previously had. After what I had found, I think this may affect my grocery lists from here on out.
I encourage people to do their own research on this topic and to be cautious not to go too far down the rabbit hole. However, it is nice to know what big food companies decide to keep from us consumers.
;)
