Mars UK commits to reformulation
September 11, 2008
The Brits are much more worried about artificial colors and flavors than we seem to be, these days as a result of the Southampton study, which linked such additives to cognitive and behavioral deficits in children eating a lot of candy. Mars has now made a commitment to eventually get rid of artificial colors in its candy bars. Will they do the same thing here? If so, what will we do without blue M&M’s?
If companies didn’t have the options to use these brightly colored artificial/chemical dyes, I’m sure they would find quite similar colors from plant-based sources for many of the “food-like-substances”* Otherwise, these highly processed products might just look a little less appetizing, especially to children–so they would consume less of them. Maybe.
What about allowing nasty animal/insect parts to be used as dyes or other ingredients under secret names. The dairy yogurt at our school is made with “carmine”(aka cochnial extract). Why not just call it what it is–boiled insect/beetle extract? mmm.beetles.
*food-like-substances is a term I learned from Michael Pollan
Comment by Daniel Ithaca,NY — September 11, 2008 @ 11:45 am