Catherine Larkin - Mar 23, 2011 3:54 PM ET
Artificial food coloring may make hyperactivity worse in some children, U.S. regulators said, responding to a petition to ban eight dyes used in food.
Studies suggest that some children with behavioral issues such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder have a ?unique intolerance? to substances in food, including chemicals used to make coloring brighter and more attractive, Food and Drug Administration staff said in a report released today. There?s no proof that these dyes cause hyperactivity, the agency said.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest urged the FDA to revoke approval for blue, green, orange, red and yellow dyes linked to behavioral changes in hyperactive children in studies in 2004 and 2007. An FDA advisory committee is scheduled to meet next week in Silver Spring, Maryland, to discuss the risks.
?Findings from relevant clinical trials indicate that the effects on their behavior appear to be due to a unique intolerance to these substances and not to any inherent neurotoxic properties,? FDA staff said in the report.
To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Larkin in Washington at clarkin4@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Adriel Bettelheim at abettelheim@bloomberg.net.
Artificial food coloring may make hyperactivity worse in some children, U.S. regulators said, responding to a petition to ban eight dyes used in food.
Studies suggest that some children with behavioral issues such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder have a ?unique intolerance? to substances in food, including chemicals used to make coloring brighter and more attractive, Food and Drug Administration staff said in a report released today. There?s no proof that these dyes cause hyperactivity, the agency said.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest urged the FDA to revoke approval for blue, green, orange, red and yellow dyes linked to behavioral changes in hyperactive children in studies in 2004 and 2007. An FDA advisory committee is scheduled to meet next week in Silver Spring, Maryland, to discuss the risks.
?Findings from relevant clinical trials indicate that the effects on their behavior appear to be due to a unique intolerance to these substances and not to any inherent neurotoxic properties,? FDA staff said in the report.
To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Larkin in Washington at clarkin4@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Adriel Bettelheim at abettelheim@bloomberg.net.
