Everything in moderation.

I've developed an allergie (Dermatographic urticaria) , that i might have had my entire life but i only notice 4 years ago, that gets activated with stress in general and my doctor said I have to avoid food coloring, when i asked why he said it was because food colorings might put my stomach under stress.
I was a doritos lover i used to eat one every weekend, and couldn't sleep the entire week thanks to that.
i've made a major change with my diet so now i don't take antihistamines daily anymore but if i eat something that has somekind of artificial food coloring by mistake my skin starts to rash.
I think FDA is making a good decision, hope Brasil follow the same step.

I don't really mind either way. Up here in Canada, Nestle has changed Smarties (not the chalky candies you call Smarties.. they're kind of like M&Ms but with better chocolate) to be all natural colourings, and I actually don't like them as much. Not because they're less visually appealing (although they're not as bright), but because now some of the natural colourings have a slight flavour to them.. I just want candy-coated chocolate with no flavouring undertones!

But I guess they're not all that healthy to begin with so.. haha.

As someone who was born with an allergy to red food dyes, and despite her best efforts hasn't been able to get over them entirely, I've been coping with this challenge for a long time: I want to eat tasty junk food (every once in a while) but I know it will make me feel even more ill than just being junk food. I welcomed the creation of snacks like Annie's gummy bunnies because I knew I could eat them without too much risk. I feel like this shouldn't be a huge deal. Frankly, we'll just be going back to what food looked and tasted like just a few decades ago.

haha @ AlisonCJ, I had a little laugh to myself when you explained Canadian Smarties, years ago, when visiting an American Dairy Queen, I asked for a Smarties Blizzard and they thought I was insane.

Oh no! I have to make a decision on my own about what to eat/not to eat? Why as the FDA forsaken us? They must have been reading that awful Ralph Waldo Emerson guy again. Something should be done...

It is very much possible to use natural food color but the flavor which comes as complement is not desired by some recipes. Probably they are more expensive too. Certainly big no for commercial candies. I feel pathetic when my son demands those bright blue and green colored candies. I am thankful to FDA if they ban these artificial colors.

I think Canadian Smarties are like Swiss smarties:-)

I don't think that government should step and do something, but I do think that the information about the potential health risks should be made public knowledge.

At that point, people can then make their own decisions. Unfortunately these giant corporations have more power and control than our government and make the calls.

Artificial coloring should be banned. It's not even made from an actual food source. It's made from petrochemicals like coal tar.

There are plenty of natural sources of food coloring like beets. The only reason they aren't widely used is because they don't color things as brightly (sorry, no neon colored food) or have as long a shelf life.

As the parent of a child that is adversely affected by artificial color (Gatorade makes him psycho) the FDA's ruling was very disappointing and it's clear to me that they care more about big business then they do the health of Americans. There's plenty of evidence out there that it adversely effects people.

Thank god for stores like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods that have made a commitment to providing delicious food without that crap.

From reading others' comments, I don't think everyone understands that the FDA is NOT banning artificial coloring and dyes. It is not even going to put warning labels on packaging. So artificial colors and dyes will continue to be used liberally and without real regulation in the U.S.

While I don't necessarily agree that dyes create hyperactivity in children (high-fructose corn syrup and highly processed/refined carbohydrates, anyone?) and I therefore understand the FDA's decision in that instance, I know a lot of people are allergic to them and they seem to be rather pointless.

Although without dyes, how would you tell which flavor different flavored candies are before eating them? Lol... A white and brown world of candy would be a strange one.

I think this demand needs to come from consumers, not from the FDA... we eat a MILLION things every day that are just as harmful to us as food dyes, and that's our right. If the FDA shut down everything that had a potential to cause harm in some or all oft the population, food would look very different.

Not to say that it wouldn't be better, healthier, and more nourishing......

But my point is, that it's not up to the government to tell us what we should and shouldn't put in our bodies... we'll find a way to do it with or without their approval... it's up to us to educate ourselves and pass on the right values to our children so that this problem that we have created will correct itself organically (no pun intended) over time.

Thank goodness I don't live in the USA. Remove the food colouring warning from labels? Thanks for screwing all of us with allergies.

Just avoid all processed food now, I guess is what'll be the answer.

Have to agree w/ mrs_mouse. Besides, if the FDA banned everything that has the potential to harm someone, what would be left? Nothing, that's what. IS there an edible item that doesn't have the potential to adversely affect someone? I doubt it.

As someone about to start a family, I really get sad at the idea of watching my children grow up in a plastic bubble and having little control over it. Its sad to think a mother can all but be tarred and feathered for feeding her kids a bit of candy nowadays. Moderation!

And as an avid baker, I can look at a full drawer bursting with artificial food colorings in my kitchen right now. Sorry guys, but I like pretty pink roses on cakes and blue swirls on cupcakes and no amount of regulating and telling me its bad is going to stop that. Until a report is published saying definitively that if I eat so many grams worth of food coloring I'll get cancer or whatever, I'm not changing a thing.

This is just silly.

To my above comment, I'm saying its a good thing they aren't regulating and labeling it.

Someone once told me that McD's Shamrock Shakes are just vanilla with green food coloring, and that people think it's minty because of the color. Can anyone confirm/deny?

Should they get rid of it because some people have adverse reactions to it? No, of course not. For the same reason that they shouldn't get rid of peanuts (because of allergies), liquor (because of religious and/or moral objections), milk, or the like. Your preference - rooted in biology, conviction, or taste - should not determine what foods are or are not available.

However, I see no reason why food coloring should not be labeled on food packaging, to help those who DO want/need to avoid it to do so more easily. The more information about what's in the food being sold the better. Let **informed** consumers then choose what food to eat and what food to avoid.

the FDA has long been in the business of protecting the corporations and not the consumer. if more people simply ate REAL and unprocessed foods, it wouldn't matter anyway. That's what we do in our family and I don't have to worry about recalls, allergies, food warnings etc. I know where my food comes from and don't rely on the FDA to tell me what's good and what's not.

the big important point is that things should be clearly labeled so the consumer can choose!!! it´s all about truth and freedom of choice. you can´t put a ban on everything that is bad for you. because everything can be bad for you. but in moderation, and a over all healthy diet, there is nothing wrong with a little colour. but if they hide that info from you, and you have allergies!!! or children!!! that is the dangerous part.

some people can't afford to shop at trader joe's and whole foods just to get healthy, organic, food coloringless foods. being one of those people - i'd much rather go to wal mart pick up some orange doritos for $2 dollars rather than a bag of natural colorless something or the other for 3x the price.

also - natural colorings like BEET JUICE in your food? are you kidding? BEETS? sick. i would not eat anything red beet flavored. if i eat a red gummy bear it better not taste like a beet!!

Hey pikku.sukka - how exactly are you being screwed? You say you don't live in the US, so how does this affect you?

Plus, you seem to be aware of what you're allergic to - do you really need a label telling you that something you already know you're allergic to will cause you to have an allergic reaction? Most of us don't need our hands held that much...

I'm allergic to penicillin - when bread goes moldy in my kitchen I DON'T EAT IT. I don't go looking to have the government smack down on the bakery that made it because they didn't warn me about the dangers of bread molds to people who are allergic to bread molds...

Well, we already list food colorings in the ingredient list of foods, always last too. Its not exactly a secret if there's colorings in a food or drink. Is it really so hard to see red dye # whatever in the ingredients? Do people really need a big warning label? Next will be warnings on food "Caution- this will make you fat!"

@schnauzieslol - there is no mint flavoring in Shamrock Shakes. it's vanilla ice cream dyed which isn't hard to believe since it's McDonalds.

I vote for keeping it on labels! If people want to eat that stuff, they can go ahead. But I want to know if it's in what I'm about to purchase so I can choose to not purchase it.

My mom limited my artificial food coloring intake since the 80's, and now I'm so thankful for it! I did break out in hives once after eating a pack of smarties (the non-US kind), so that might be why...

Needless to say, it'll appear VERY rarely in the household once I have my own children. Same for a load of other stuff that barely passes for "food".

I agree with all the people that say consumers should be able to make their own decisions about food.. and I also agree with everyone who says that in order for consumers to make educated decisions, food products NEED to be labeled! Consumers should have the right to know EXACTLY what their buying, especially if they plan on feeding it to their families.

It's not just about the food dye, it's everything. I don't want to buy GMOs. How am I supposed to know if the potatoes or the corn at my grocery store has been genetically modified if it doesn't say so on the label? The labeling laws in this country are ridiculous.

I don't want to find out 10 years from now that the secret ingredient that I didn't know was in the food I fed my children causes cancer. Consumers need to demand that their foods are labeled properly.. don't leave it up to the government to protect you.

yaaaayyy, fellow readers with dye allergies!!!! never thought i'd be so excited to find that i had hives in common with people.

i'm allergic to food dyes, too, all of them (especially red 40, yellow 5 & 6, and blue lake) - but only for 5 years now. hives and difficulty breathing, like... wheezing, not TOO serious.

but i think people underestimate how many foods have these dyes in them, especially yellow.
it's not just gummy worms and gushers and pink frosting at the grocery store. you've really got to look at everything....
soups, bread, cookies, cakes, crackers, chips, sodas, lemonades, sports drinks, alcohol!, teas, THE LIST GOES ON! and that's just yellow.
why do marshmallows need blue dye? why?

i would LOVE warning labels, but honestly..... i'd still read the ingredients anyway.

Reading comprehension is far to lacking these days... It does not say ANYWHERE that they will not list food dyes on package labels. It SAYS they will not put WARNING LABELS on those packages implying what said food dyes may or may not do to some people.

Sorry - "far too lacking"

In my view, coloring our food adds charm to it.
NutraSlim