Expert reveals sinister reason why Froot Loops won’t remove cancer-related dyes from their products
Froot Loops cereal has found itself at the center of a political battle over artificial ingredients linked to cancer.
There are increasing calls to rid the colorful hoops of synthetic dyes such as red 40, yellow 5 and yellow 6, as they are already banned in Canada and Europe.
Hundreds of thousands have signed a petition calling on Kellogg’s to ban unnecessary additives. Recently, advocates in Texas are pushing for a ban on Kellogg’s cereal in Texas public schools.
But despite mounting pressure, the grain giant is unlikely to make any changes, said Marion Nestle, a top nutritionist who was a professor at New York University for almost 30 years.
She told CNN that studies have shown that people believe brightly colored foods taste better and that they “much prefer” them to naturally colored options.
When grain companies have replaced synthetic dyes with natural alternatives, Ms. Nestle says that “people don’t buy them [and] they don’t want them that much.’
“So from the cereal company’s point of view, this is a marketing requirement,” she adds.
Ms. Nestle also points to cultural differences between the U.S. and the rest of the world. ‘Americans seem to prefer bright neon dyes more than Europeans.
‘The Europeans buy the grains with natural dyes. But we don’t do that. So it’s a problem for the grain companies.”
A leading nutritionist has revealed the sinister reason why cereal companies won’t remove cancer-related chemicals from their products
Pointing to an example of a drop in sales after removing food additives, Ms. Nestle looks at General Mills’ brightly colored Trix.
She says, “In 2017, General Mills said it would pull the dyes from Trix.
‘Guess what? Turnover fell. General Mills put the dyes back in. You know, and I thought I actually liked the colors that they used in between.
“But people weren’t buying them and sales were down 5 percent or something like that. That’s all it takes.’
She added: “They are not public health authorities. They are companies with shareholders to please. That’s what it comes down to.’
Ms. Nestle notes that the food colorings are used for “cosmetic reasons” only and that they serve “no function in the cereal other than to make it attractive.”
Kellogg’s promised nearly a decade ago to remove artificial colors and ingredients from all its cereals by 2018, but has yet to deliver on that promise.
Ms. Nestle says bluntly that this is because “if they take them out, people won’t buy them.”
Former USDA food chief Darin Detwiler previously told DailyMail.com that Kellogg’s Froot Loops is the worst breakfast cereal in the US because of the number of chemicals the colorful rings contain.
Red 40, a dye that gives hoops their neon red color, is considered the most concerning additive used in the food industry.
In addition to Froot Loops, other recognizable foods that currently contain Red 40 are Fruity Pebbles, Trix, Nacho Cheese Doritos, Skittles, M&Ms and Gatorade.
Are banned in several European countries due to its link to it hyperactivity and cancerand are not present in most international products, such as those in Australia and Canada.
Dr. Detwiler joined campaigners this fall, including actress Eva Mendes, in an effort to encourage these policies Kellogg’s ‘is considering reformulating their products to reduce the use of artificial additives, colorings and high sugar levels.’
Marion Nestle – a leading nutritionist who was a professor at New York University for almost 30 years – says it will be very difficult to force change from grain manufacturers
In addition to red 40, the American variety Fruit Loops contains yellow 5, blue 1, yellow 6 and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), which have been linked to health problems in children.
Canadian Froot Loops replaced these dyes with concentrated blueberry, carrot and watermelon juices.
Although research shows that dyes can cause health problems, Ms. Nestle says there are gaps in the research.
She reveals: ‘The problem for scientists is that the research is incredibly difficult to do.
“You can’t take two populations of children and lock them up and give them one set of food coloring and one set of no food coloring and leave them there for a number of years and see if it affects their behavior.”
‘You are not allowed to do such studies. That’s why they do research on animals. And the animal studies are done with much higher doses than are currently available in the food supply. And those studies show damage. How do you interpret that?’
In Europe, Ms. Nestle says food companies have “a so-called precautionary principle, which is making sure these things are safe before they use them.”
In the US, ‘because the Food and Drug Administration is so severely underfunded and doesn’t have the staff or resources to do this kind of thing, they’re forced to take the generally recognized as safe approach, which, you know, people have been complaining about that for decades, that it doesn’t work.’
