An FDA advisory panel will soon decide if there is a possible connection between food dyes and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) which could lead to new warning labels on foods such as cereal, gummi bears and Jello.
There has been no proven relationship between food dyes and ADHD. Therefore the panel is not likely to ban the dyes called into question, which include Yellow 5, Red 40 and six others. While the panel only makes recommendations, the agency usually follows those recommendations.
Consumer advocates and scientists say a growing list of studies has found that processed foods – including those with artificial dyes – may play a role in ADD.
In the U.S., food makers are permitted to use nine dyes, most of which were approved nearly 80 years ago. The FDA has long maintained these dyes are safe.
The idea that dyes in food causes ADHD was first noted in "Why Your Child is Hyperactive," a book written by Dr. Benjamin Feingold in 1975, according to CNN.
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