Does Europe Care More About Consumer Safety than America Does?

Both the U.K. and U.S. sell Fanta soda, but don't expect to see identical ingredients on both sides of the pond. The same goes for McDonald's strawberry sundaes and a host of other brightly colored foods. When it comes to food additives, European products are oftentimes way more natural than their American counterparts.

While the U.K.'s orange Fanta soda gets colored with pumpkin and carrot extracts, the American version of the pop gets its shocking hue with the help of Red 40 and Yellow 6. British McDonald's strawberry sundaes derive their red color from actual strawberries, but America's Golden Arches pump their desserts full of Red 40. While folks across the pond get goods naturally colored with fruit and veggie extracts, American consumers consistently chow down on pink, purple, and yellow foods that get their hues from synthetic dyes.

This striking difference in ingredients exists because as America's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fails to regulate producers' use of artificial dyes, Europe's been cracking down on synthetic colors. This past July, European food products containing artificial dyes started carrying labels that read "may have effects on activity and attention in children." "This warning may be the death knell for [artificial] food dyes in Europe, especially for foods commonly eaten by children," Michael Jacobson, executive director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), told Environmental Health Perspectives.

Studies show that phasing out artificial food dyes may be in kids' — and all consumers — best interests. According to a recent report produced by CSPI, the three most heavily used artificial food dyes — Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 — contain cancer-causing compounds. Dyes like Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 can cause allergic reactions in people, while other synthetic dyes are linked to hyperactivity in children. What's worse is that since 1955, consumption of artificial food dyes has increased five-fold amongst American consumers.

Despite their potential health risks, synthetic dyes are ubiquitous throughout the food supply. Dyes like Blue 1, Blue 2, Citrus Red 2, Green 3, Orange B, Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 appear in everything from fruit snacks to cereals to beverages to vitamins. What's worse is that many of these eye-catching, colored foods are geared towards kids.If the sugar alone in breakfast cereals and fruit snacks doesn't make kids hyperactive, the artificial dyes can certainly get the job done.

The U.S. should take a page from Europe's rule book and start regulating the use of synthetic food dyes. You can make your voice heard by signing our petition asking the FDA to limit food producers' ability to use artificial dyes.

Photo credit: rightee via Flickr