It’s about time! For the first time in over 30 years the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to look at the safety of chemicals already in our food. The FDA will examine chemicals added to our food like coloring and flavoring, and others that contact and contaminate our food — like packaging, dyes, coatings, and plastics from food packaging.
Living Well Black calls on the FDA to prioritize food additives affecting vulnerable populations like pregnant women and children, especially minority and low income kids.
Last month, the FDA moved to ban FD&C Red Dye no 3, as a food coloring additive, based on evidence that it causes cancer. This action came 35 years after the agency banned the this additive from cosmetics for the same reason. This delay is unacceptable and is just the tip of the iceberg. Why? There are many more food additives in our food shown to harm our health.
Many Food Additives Declared Bad for Children by doctors
There are additives in the foods we eat today that we know are unhealthy — especially for our kids. The American Academy of Pediatrics raised concerns as early as 2018 and told parents to avoid six different food additives for the reasons below:
- Bisphenol A (BPA) – Can mimic estrogens in the body and affect the timing of puberty, increase body fat, and may affect the immune and nervous systems;
- Phthalates – Can increase chances of obesity and affect metabolism, development of male genitals, and cardiovascular system;
- Perfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs) – Can lower immune response, fertility, and birthweight. Also can affect thyroid hormone system which impacts muscle control, brain development, and strength of bones;
- Perchlorate – May affect thyroid hormones, which can impact early growth and brain development;
- Synthetic artificial food colors – May affect children’s attention and behavior; and
- Nitrates/nitrites – Are linked to thyroid problems and tumors in nervous and digestive systems, can cause infants to develop methemoglobinemia (affecting the body’s ability to deliver oxygen).
Artificial Food Colors shown to worsen children’s behavior
Artificial colors that risk our children’s health should be identified and banned. A study reported in 2024 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Health looked at how artificial colors affect children with behavioral disorders like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and without behavioral disorders. The study found that color additives caused allergic reactions, memory and learning disorders, inflamed central nervous systems and damage to brain nerve cells in kids with ADHD. For children with ASD it increased hyperactivity and disrupted their sleep. Even kids without a behavioral diagnosis showed hyperactivity and toxicity due to their lower body weight.
Color additives have been shown to worsen behavioral symptoms in kids, particularly kids with disorders like ADHD and ASD. Black children are more likely to have ADHD compared to the general population so are more at risk from artificial good additives. Considering the harm to children caused by color and other food additives like those listed above, the FDA should prioritize safety reviews of food additives most likely to affect children. Further, research shows that Black children in the United States are treated more harshly both in school settings and within the juvenile justice system than white children. Therefore, Black children, in particular, cannot afford to have additives in the food they eat cause or worsen behavior problems, and affect their chances for success and achievement in school.
Big Food Manufacturers Shamelessly Market Junk Food to Our Children
Making things worse, big food manufacturers are targeting our kids — getting them hooked on unhealthy processed snacks and sugary drinks. A 2022 study found that U.S. food and beverage companies target Black and Hispanic communities with advertising for low nutrient high-calorie products like sugary drinks, snacks, and candy. Ads for unhealthy foods made up an astounding 73% of ad spending on Black-targeted TV in 2021. In fact, our children and teens see more than two times as many ads for sugary drinks than white children and teens. This flood of ads leads our kids to eat and drink more junk food and drinks — often containing unhealthy food additives — threatening our children’s health. This exploitation and money-making strategy is not new. In fact, it has been describes as the same playbook used to target tobacco to Black communities. For these reasons, we strongly urge the FDA to focus on safety reviews of food additives in snacks and drinks that are marketed disproportionately to Black and minority teens, and low income populations.
Supermarket Redlining
While “Big Food” is targeting our kids with ads for unhealthy snacks and drinks, other affordable healthy alternatives can be hard to find because grocery store chains have abandoned many Black and minority communities and lower income neighborhoods. Called “supermarket redlining,” the failure “of major grocery store chains to open and maintain stores in disproportionately Black, low-income communities – limits choices while driving up prices in the food options that are available.” Supermarket redlining then leads to “Food Deserts” — where there is are very few heathy food options. So not only do kids in these communities face an onslaught of ads for unhealthy snacks, many have few grocery stores with healthy alternatives.
black Maternal and Newborn Health Crisis
Finally, there is a maternal and newborn health crisis in the Black community. Our moms are more likely to die in or soon after childbirth, and our infants are more likely to be born pre-term. We strongly urge the FDA to identify and ban food additives that may be harmful to pregnant women and unborn children.
LWB will be following the FDA’s progress on food additive safety and let you know what we find…..
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