CSPI Applauds Move by Kraft to Remove Dyes from All Mac and Cheese, Urges FDA Action on Dyes
Statement of CSPI Executive Director Michael F. Jacobson
April 20, 2015
As consumers increasingly try to find dye-free foods, it’s increasingly going to be in the economic self-interest of Kraft and other food manufacturers to get rid of artificial dyes. Kraft’s Macaroni and Cheese isn’t a health food. But replacing its Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 with natural colorings is a step in the right direction that will help families with children avoid the hyperactivity and other behavioral problems triggered or exacerbated by the chemicals.
Of course the Food and Drug Administration could solve this problem quite quickly, and in a way that levels the playing field for all companies. It could, as CSPI has petitioned the agency to do, prohibit the use of artificial food dyes altogether. European regulators solved most of the problem with a warning label. Given the well-documented harm that dyes cause, and given that they serve only a cosmetic purpose, why put any consumers at risk?
