Fifteen years ago, the European Union made a decision that quietly changed what goes into some of the most recognizable snack foods on the planet. Starting in 2010, any food sold in Europe containing certain synthetic dyes had to carry a warning label stating it “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” Manufacturers changed up their products rather than put those words on a package aimed at kids, or more properly, their moms. But Americans never got that label, and those dyes stayed in their snacks.
The dyes in question are petroleum-derived colorings that have been in the food supply for decades. The original safety testing that led to their approval - mostly studies done in the 1950s and 60s — looked at whether they caused organ damage or cancer in animals. Nobody asked whether they might affect how children think, focus, or behave, and when people finally did look into the results were striking.
The answer came from a pair of British studies published in 2004 and 2007, which found that children had increased hyperactivity when they were given drinks that had a mixture of synthetic dyes. How much did they get? Basically, the equivalent of eating a couple of bags of Skittles. So a lot, but an amount that you could imagine being consumed on a playdate with less than perfect supervision. That was the evidence that triggered the EU warning label. What about the US? The FDA took a look at those same studies in 2011 and decided it wasn’t conclusive enough to act, and so nothing changed.
So why do a lot of people think that synthetic food dyes might cause behavioral problems in kids? It turns out that certain food dyes — especially Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 — trigger histamine release, and while histamine is best known for its role in allergies, it probably plays a role in ADHD too. Most kids can handle a histamine surge just fine, but a significant number — about one in five — carry a gene that makes it harder for them to clear histamine from the brain. This might explain why some kids can eat neon colored candies without any problems, while others have a negative reaction.
I’m not claiming that food dyes cause ADHD, or that removing them from the diet can replace medication for those children who genuinely need it. But I am saying that for some kids — and probably more than we think — what they are eating may be part of the picture.
The FDA has announced plans to remove all these dyes (and a few others) from the American food supply by the end of 2027. That’s real progress, but it’s also a year and a half away. So what can you do right now? You can read the labels and look to see if any of the following three dyes are in the ingredients list: Red 40, Yellow 5, or Yellow 6. So what do you do if you forget your reading glasses? There’s a short list of items that sell different versions in Europe vs the US to avoid the dreaded behavior label — Froot Loops, Lucky Charms, Twinkies, Little Debbie Swiss Rolls, Skittles, and Doritos. All those snacks are still available in the UK and EU; they just use natural additives — their Doritos are coated in paprika extract rather than a petroleum-based dye.
You don’t have to overhaul your pantry or deprive your kids of a treat. The wait for “cleaner” versions of these snacks in the US is almost over, and most of these brands have committed to removing petroleum-based dyes by the end of 2026. Natural versions of Doritos and Froot Loops are already on store shelves. Until the rest of the brands catch up, there’s still going to be some label reading required, but knowing that the market is finally moving in a healthier direction is a big win for every parent trying to do their best in the grocery aisle.