Parents are Stupid and That's Why We Need The Center for Science in The Public Interest

I was browsing through the editorial section of the Roanoke Times yesterday (yes, I still get and read a daily paper) when I stumbled upon an interesting article called "The dark side of bright colored food" written by David Schab, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
     Schab and Jacobson start their giant four column rant on food dyes by comparing the super market to a "fun   house of hues" and aisles that "feature riotously colored processed foods". I knew exactly where these two scary food clowns were headed. The article was incredibly frightening claiming that popular food dyes have been shown in studies to cause cancer and affecting behavior in children. The "bad guys" known as Red #3, Red#40, yellow #5 and yellow#6 need to be banned by the FDA according to Schab and Jacobson who claim that scientific studies back up their assertions.
     Particularly insulting to parents everywhere was this lovely paragraph "Despite those concerns parents continued to serve up meals and stuff their children's lunch boxes with more and more processed foods colored with dyes, stoking a fie fold increase in the per-capita production of food dyes over the past 30 years."  First, I'm not sure the last time Mr. Schab or Mr. Jacobson have been to an elementary, middle, or high school but the vast majority of kids buy their lunches at school on  a regular basis. When I drop my daughter off to her kindergarten class room in the morning there are usually only 3-5 lunch bags on the packers table out of her class of 14 students. In addition, as a food purchaser and  packer of my daughter's lunch I can assure both gentlemen that I neither "serve up" process loaded meals or "stuff" her lunch bag with deadly toxins. Again, if Mr.s Schab or Jacobson have done any shopping lately they'd find that buying processed convenience  foods is generally more expensive than non processed stuff. Let's take crackers and cheese. It's much cheaper to buy a box of crackers and a block of cheese than to buy the handi cheese and cracker snacks. Buying a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter is cheaper than a Lunchable. You get the idea.
      Now, let me also say that I have bought handi snacks, Lunchables and boxed Mac N Cheese. I buy chips and gasp, cookies. My kids have been know to drink a Capri Sun or two.  Mondays at our house are the busy days. Work ,School, music class,  and dance class usually mean a quick dinner of sloppy joes here. But key here is that we don't eat that stuff every day. Simple common parental sense tells me when it's OK for my kids to have a treat and when to say no. I've only had nutrition in seventh and eight grade Home EC so how do I avoid Big Foods attempt to "manipulate" my perceptions with fancy and colorful food dyes? I'm savey enough to know that brightly colored foods and packageing don't always mean a better product. You get this way if you shop for food regularly.
     Let's address Mr. Scab's and Mr. Jacobson's claim that dyes cause cancer and behavior problems. I went to the Center for Science in The Public website and looked up the bad guy dyes. Surprisingly most of the studies were either done many years ago with no follow up study or the results were questionable at best. In addition Schab and Jacobson claim the the FDA released a study a week ago that concluded that synthetic food colorings do affect some children. Well, the link on the website puts you to a mammoth government document that states this:

 In summary, based on the data reviewed in these publications FDA concludes that a causal 
relationship between exposure to color additives and hyperactivity in children in the general 
population has not been established.  However, for certain susceptible children with ADHD and 
other problem behaviors, the data suggest that their condition may be exacerbated by exposure to 
a number of substances in food, including, but not limited to, artificial food colors.  Findings 
from relevant clinical trials indicate that the effects on their behavior appear to be due to a 
unique intolerance to these substances and not to any inherent neurotoxic properties.

     OK, so artificial coloring MAY affect some kids that have ADHD. That's sounds different from the dire warnings sounded in the Schab and Jacobson article. Additionally, the FDA says that if there is a connection between dyes and behavior it maybe a "unique intolerance to these substances and not to any inherent neurotoxic properties."  Schab and Jacobson call for an outright ban on these food dyes simply based on some inconsistent testing and this report from the FDA.
     I don't support food dyes, junk food or children gorging on nutritionally deficient foods. But I do support your right as a parent to determine what you feed your family. I'm glad that we have people who study nutrition and consumer advocacy groups that work to make products safe for every one. However, I'm wholeheartedly against using questionable science and fear mongering into scaring parents into supporting political causes.

Oh, by the way, here is the link to CSITPI website listing all kinds of chemicals found in foods and what kind of nasty things can happen if you eat them. Look for Yellow #5, and #6 Red 40 and #3 .http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm