Americans are baffled after learning that American candies sold in Europe have labels with extreme health warnings
Americans on social media were shocked to learn that some of the foods they see every day carry health warnings in other countries.
In a new video, Swedish TikTok user SwedishJohan shared a video from the US department of his local store that sells candies like Airheads, Laffy Taffy and Sour Patch Kids.
In it, he flipped a watermelon-flavored Airhead, a fruit-flavored taffy bar, which revealed that on top of the normal nutrition label was a paper label with a warning.
Translated, the warning reads: ‘Contains the AZO dyes e129, e110, e102 which may have a negative effect on the behavior and concentration of children.’
These are also known as Red40, Yellow 6 and Yellow5 and are completely legal in the US but heavily regulated in Europe.
In children, research has linked these dyes to behavioral problems such as ADHD, restlessness, inattention, aggression, irritability and sleep problems.
Johan said: ‘So it includes American candy warning labels here in Europe‘.
US users immediately responded, with one user saying: ‘As an American, I’m embarrassed, as always.’
Johan is a TikToker and father of two, based in Sweden. In his first video, which has more than 88,000 likes and more than 2,800 comments, he said: ‘we have very strict food regulations on what can and cannot be in food or edible products in Europe.’
The translation of this warning reads: ‘Contains the AZO dyes e129, e110, e102 which may have a negative effect on the behavior and concentration of children.’
Another user said: ‘If someone in Sweden made an app with all the warning labels for foods in the US, it would be very useful. We could read them here in the US and it would make us Americans aware of them.”
The EU has not banned the three dyes, but a 2008 law says any manufacturer using these products must put a warning label on their product.
This has led to many manufacturers deciding to replace synthetic dyes with natural dyes.
The three dyes are made from petroleum and are found in more than 36,000 food products sold in the US. a 2024 report of the Environmental Working Group.
They are also found in cosmetics, medications and personal care products such as soap.
Although these dyes are used nationwide and considered safe by the FDA, there is a movement in some states to ban food dyes.
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment examined 27 older clinical studies involving animals and children released a report in 2021 which confirms that there is a link between these dyes and behavioral problems in children.
Specifically, these dyes can cause symptoms of ADHA and irritability in some children, or cause children who already have these problems to develop the worst symptoms.
The director of the OEHHA, Dr. Lauren Zeise, linked these dyes to the increase in ADHD diagnoses in children.
Dr. Zeise said, “As more and more children in the U.S. are diagnosed with behavioral disorders, this review may contribute to efforts to protect children from exposures that can worsen behavioral problems.”
This prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to sign a new law banning Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3 from food served in public schools in the state.
Companies have until December 2027 to get rid of these dyes and replace them with natural dyes such as beet juice or face fines.
As of October 2024, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and South Dakota are also considering restrictions on some food dyes.
In a follow-up video, Johan went to Costco to see the additives in candy. Most of the sweets he found were made in the EU and did not contain synthetic colourants. The one he found with food coloring was American-made Laffy Taffy, which contained Red 40 (Allura Red) and Yellow 5 (Tartrazine).
It is not clear how these chemicals can cause behavioral changes.
According to University of California MercedOlder research in animals shows that these chemicals can change the type and amount of neurotransmitters released by the brain.
Neurotransmitters are the signals that determine how the brain functions – and play an important role in mood, decision-making and sleep.
Dyes have also been linked to cancer in the past. In 1990, the FDA banned Red 3 from cosmetics after reports linked it to thyroid cancer.
Research in the 1980s on laboratory animals showed that animals given large amounts of the dye were more likely to develop thyroid cancer than other animals.
Still, researchers estimate that humans are unlikely to develop thyroid tumors from red dye because they don’t consume nearly as much as laboratory animals. One estimate found that Red 3 probably causes one in 100,000 thyroid tumors.
With this evidence, FDA officials said they planned to phase out the chemical from food products.
Despite promises to the contrary, EWG said the FDA has not yet acted on banning Red 3 in food products – and it can be detected in 3,300 products sold in the US.
The EU banned this for most food products in 1994. This specific dye was not found in any of the products that Johan highlighted.
