(NewsNation) — Americans are once again taking a closer look at what’s in their breakfast cereals, and protesters this week demanded the WK Kellogg Co. remove artificial food dyes and chemical preservatives from its products.
Dozens of people rallied outside the company’s Michigan headquarters Tuesday before activists marched and delivered boxes of petitions to the corporation. The petitions included over 400,000 signatures demanding the company make the change.
Outside of the United States, these companies are banned from using artificial food dyes in their products, and American families are fed up. Froot Loops in Canada, for example, are now colored with watermelon, blueberry and carrot juice instead of artificial dyes used in American Froot Loops.
“All of the cereals that they have targeting children have these artificial food dyes, but they don’t do this in other countries. It’s un-American, it’s unethical, it’s immoral,” food blogger and activist Vani Hari said.
Hari continued, “And this made me so mad and I had to do something about it.”
Food dyes and children’s health
Protesters supported their claim with evidence that artificial food dyes can contribute to behavior issues in some kids. Health professionals agreed.
“In my practice, because I do integrative medicine, food is at the cornerstone as a foundation of healing children. And one of the first things that we do is remove food coloring from their diet,” pediatrician Ana-Maria Temple said. “It is astronomical and mind-blowing. The parents cannot even believe that it could be that easy to just remove food coloring, and the change on their behavior, and even in my eczema program, on their skin.”
Kellogg, the maker of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, announced nearly a decade ago that it would remove artificial colors and ingredients from its products by 2018.
NewsNation asked Kellogg for a comment about the dyes used in its products and the petitions it has received to get rid of the chemicals.
“Our products — and the ingredients we use to make them — are compliant with all applicable relevant laws and regulations and we remain committed to transparently labeling our ingredients so consumers can easily make choices about the food they purchase. Today, more than 85 percent of our cereal sales contain no colors from artificial sources.”
WK Kellogg Co. statement
Kellogg said Tuesday that its foods are safe and all of its ingredients comply with federal regulations.
“Instead, they’ve done the opposite,” Hari said. “Not only have they lied to us, but they keep creating new products. One just released this month after a stuffed animal my kids have in their bed with these artificial food dyes.”
Mixed reactions with leaders
There are mixed reactions from U.S. leaders about what should be done, if anything, to regulate coloring and preservatives in food.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it has reviewed and evaluated the effects of color additives on children’s behavior but believes most children have no adverse effects when consuming them.
However, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a “first-in-the-nation” bill last month that bans public schools from serving food or snacks that contain artificial food dyes. California’s law bans four of the dyes now used in Froot Loops: Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5, Yellow Dye No. 6 and Blue Dye No. 1.
Still, concerned moms like Hari and the protesters in Michigan say their fight to “ditch the artificial food dyes” is not over.
Natural coloring may not be the final answer for them, but to get Kellogg to make this one change in their cereals in the U.S., protesters feel this is a step in the right direction.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.