KAWARTHA LAKES-There’s a potentially dangerous chemical lurking in your child’s brightly coloured cereal.
I had never heard of Tartrazine until a few weeks ago. My grandson had asked for some Lucky Charms cereal. I usually don’t buy those kinds of cereal but after reading the label I felt it was no worse than many other cereals so why not let him have it for a fun treat.
The label claims whole grain is the “first ingredient”. The sugar content is the same or even less in some cases than other cereals considered more “healthy”. For Example Lucky Charms has 2 grams of sugar per 3/4 cup serving. Honey Shreddies has a whopping 13 grams per one cup serving. Plain cheerios has 1 gram of sugar.
After a few days of having this cereal my grandson had a fluorescent green bowel movement. He didn’t complain of having a sore stomach or to be in any pain although we had noticed he was a bit hyper. However the bowel movement was very green and turned the water in the toilet bowl green.
I was wracking my brain to try to figure out what was causing this as nothing in his diet had changed. Then I remembered he had been eating this brightly coloured cereal so I checked out the ingredients more thoroughly. I noticed after the word “colour” on the list of ingredients in said in brackets “includes tartrazine”. This prompted some curiosity so I did a little research.
Tartrazine also known as FD&C Yellow #5 is a chemical used in artificial colouring. Some studies suggest it can cause hyperactivity in children similar to the use of red food dye but it may also be more dangerous than that.
A study was done on the chemical to evaluate the potential in vitro cytotoxicity (being toxic to cells), genotoxicity and effects on DNA repair of human lymphocytes exposed to the dye. Genotoxicity describes chemical agents that damage the genetic information within a cell causing mutations that may lead to cancer.
Scientists used different concentrations of the dye. The results demonstrated that tartrazine has no cytotoxic effects. However, this dye had a significant genotoxic effect at all concentrations tested according to the study. Although most of the damage was “amenable to repair”, some damage remained higher than positive control after 24 h of repair. “These data demonstrate that tartrazine may be harmful to health and its prolonged use could trigger carcinogenesis.” said the authors of the study. (Soares BM, Araújo TM, Ramos JA, et al. Effects on DNA repair in human lymphocytes exposed to the food dye tartrazine yellow. Anticancer Res. 2015;35(3):1465-1474.)
According to another study it is known to cause allergic reactions such as asthma and urticaria (hives), as well as having been the focus of studies on mutagenesis and carcinogenesis due to its transformation into aromatic amine sulfanilic acid (used in yellow food dye) after being metabolized by the gastrointestinal (bowel) microflora. (Moutinho IL, Bertges LC, Assis RV. Prolonged use of the food dye tartrazine (FD&C yellow no 5) and its effects on the gastric mucosa of Wistar rats. Braz J Biol. 2007;67(1):141-145. doi:10.1590/s1519-69842007000100019)
This study used 45 male Wistar rats that were assigned to a control group (A) or a treatment one (B). The treatment group received 7.5 mg x kg(-1) x day(-1) of tartrazine daily in drinking water for ten months from weaning to the age of twelve months. There was a significant increase in the number of lymphocytes and eosinophils of the gastric antrum (stomach)mucosa according to the authors.
A lymphocyte is a type of white blood cell that is part of the immune system. There are two main types of lymphocytes: B cells and T cells. The B cells produce antibodies that are used to attack invading bacteria, viruses, and toxins.
The eosinophil is a specialized cell of the immune system whose functions include: movement to inflamed areas, trapping substances, killing cells, anti-parasitic and bactericidal activity, participating in immediate allergic reactions, and modulating inflammatory responses.
No carcinogenetic changes in any gastric area were observed during the study. But the authors said as tartrazine belongs to the azo class, it is still a possible food carcinogen.
“Other studies with different doses and schedules, observing their effects associated to other carcinogens should be carried out if their safe use is to be recommended.” stated the authors.
In 2015 General Mills, the company that makes Lucky Charms announced it would remove all artificial flavors and colors from its cereal over the next two to three years. At that time cereals that still contain artificial flavors and colors include Reese’s Puffs, Lucky Charms and Trix.
“The work has been underway for several months — and we’ve actually been researching flavors and colors for several years,” said the company’s statement.
Officials said each cereal requires different changes. Cereals that contain marshmallows, like Lucky Charms and Monster cereals, are the biggest challenge and would take longer to complete the changes. General Mills estimated it will take until 2017 to remove the fake colours from the marshmallows in Lucky Charms. Yet here we are in 2020 and the fake colours remain.
Kawartha 411 contacted General Mills and was told the company would not be removing the chemicals after all.
“Tartrazine is a permitted food additive and the safety of all ingredients for use in food is evaluated by Health Canada.” Mike Siemienas, General Mills Spokesman told Kawartha 411. “As we have previously stated, we will not make changes to our products if it negatively impacts the taste and we have yet to find a new Lucky Charms recipe that maintains the taste fans expect.”
He’s right, Tartrazine is permitted in Canada even though it’s been banned in other countries. We contacted Health Canada weeks ago to find out why but have not received a response.
In Europe food products containing these dyes must carry a warning that the additives “may have adverse effects on activity and attention of children”. It is banned in Norway and Austria according to ukfoodguide.net.
The amount of food dye ingested by kids has increased dramatically over the past 70 years. An evaluation done by Perdue University showed the amount had risen from 12 milligrams per day in 1950 to 68 mg per day in 2012.
According to an article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Tartrazine is a dye derived from coal tar. It exists as a bright yellow -orange powder that becomes red in the presence of sodium hydroxide and if it’s mixed with blue a lime-green colour results. That would possibly explain my grandsons shocking bowel movement. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1862961/
Tartrazine also known as FD & C Yellow #5, Tartar Yellow and more can also be used in soft drinks, instant pudding, cotton candy, coloured drinks, cake mixes, flavoured chips, ice cream and more.
My grandson had a couple more fluorescent BM’s but it has since returned to normal after the cereal box “disappeared”.
Please read your labels carefully.
photo credit: donnierayjones Cheerios via photopin (license)
