FDA To Study Possible Connection Between Hyperactivity In Children and Artificial Food Colorings

The FDA plans to investigate the possible link between hyperactivity in children and artificial dyes used in ordinary food products such as candy, salad dressing, and waffles. A panel will reconsider the agency's existing view that the dyes pose no health risk to children, a position that some scientists and consumer advocates do not agree with. However, nobody expects the agency to ban artificial coloring. Several food companies, such as Mars Inc. and Kraft Foods Inc., have expressed their confidence in the safety of dyes despite the controversy, which began with a California pediatrician's call in the 1970s for elimination of dyes and preservatives in diets of children with behavior issues and was revived by a 2007 study in the U.K. linking hyperactivity in children to artificial colorings.