Food Babe Takes on Froot Loops

Here's why I'm of two minds about this social media call-to-action

A meme is making the rounds on social media.

It’s a call-to-action to insist that the behemoth Kellogg Company take some of the toxic ingredients out of their Froot Loops to make the cereal healthier.

Lest you need reminding, Kellogg’s is the maker of Froot Loops, Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Frosted Flakes, as well as Pringles, Cheez-It crackers, and Eggo frozen waffles, among other deliciousness.

The quality of food sold in America versus in Europe

As Food Babe herself has written about tirelessly, it’s a common and fascinating phenomenon that food sold in America is often full of toxic non-food products like petroleum-derived food dyes, while the same food made by the same corporation sold in Europe and other places does not contain these non-edible ingredients.

I first learned about this when I was researching why prescription prenatal vitamins make some pregnant women feel so sick for a chapter of my 2015 book, Your Baby, Your Way.

While researching common additives in vitamins, I read the report, “Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risks,” by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

(Though this report was released in 2010, its contents are as relevant today as they were 14 years ago.)

As the authors explain: “Distressingly, some products made by McDonald’s, Mars, Kraft, PepsiCo, and other major U.S. multinational companies contain dyes in the United States, but natural or no colorings in the United Kingdom.”

These so-called “food grade” dyes are often sold wholesale to companies in large plastic containers that look just like gallon jugs of paint.

Yummy!

Delicious!

I love eating a petroleum-based paint red dye #40, don’t you?

So-called food dyes are toxic

There is a growing and solid body of scientific evidence showing that these dyes cause hyperactivity, headaches, allergic reactions like hives and eczema, microbiome disruption and gut problems, and even cancer.

Related content: New Science Shows that Colon Cancer in Teens Has Tripled in the Last 20 Years

But the Food & Drug Administration deems them safe.

Me, I believe everything the FDA says. So that’s another reason I go out of my way to eat extra. I love red dye #40 so much, in fact, that I add some to my morning cuppa.

Why not?

But I digress.

Despite the myriad and incontrovertible health issues associated with food dyes and other toxic additives like foam expander (the FDA’s malarky and my above snark aside), I’m actually of two minds about the call to tell Kellogg’s our children deserve safer Froot Loops.

Here’s why: