“I love ingesting toxic chemicals,” said no one ever. It is no secret that we, the land of the free, have an awful nutrition crisis that keeps our health caged in the prison that is processed food. In an attempt to remedy this epidemic, on September 30, 2024, California officially banned K-12 public schools from serving lunches containing Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5, Yellow Dye No. 6, Blue Dye No. 1, Blue Dye No. 2, and Green Dye No. 3. Students will not only be saying farewell to suspiciously colored candies and soft drinks, however. In an article on Healthline, dietician Becky Bell explained how these food dyes can sneakily present themselves in staple ingredients of our everyday diet.
Combining Bell’s knowledge with my organizational skills, I’ve created a comprehensive guide to the sinister six of food dyes:
In an interview with CdMHS’s nutrition expert, senior Elise Elvander, she articulated her support for the statewide ban. “At the end of the day, food dye isn’t healthy for you, but [because we] still consume [it] outside of school…it’s important for the schools to…provide healthy lunches,” she explained. Elvander doesn’t hesitate to throw the beloved Scooby Doo fruit gummies under the bus as an example of the countless non-nutritious snacks that don the shelves of public school cafeterias. Elaborating on Elvander’s point, Scott Medintz with Consumer Reports explains that “[these] chemicals have been linked to hyperactivity and neurobehavioral problems in some children.”
For any readers scared into submission by these frightening facts, worry not, for Elvander has some easy, feasible advice: “Check the ingredients on everything.” This includes not being tempted by pleasant-sounding names like “Allura Red” and “Sunset Yellow.” In addition, Elvander acknowledges the financial hurdle posed by healthy eating. In response, she urges aspiring health nuts to find something “in between that isn’t as unhealthy as, say, Fruit Roll-Ups or Little Debbie Chocolate Cupcakes.”