Petition challenges use of dyes in Kraft Dinner

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By Sarah Lennox

Over 270,000 people have signed a petition to remove the artificial food dyes in Kraft Dinner with around 25,000 signatures from Canada.

American food bloggers Vani Hari from Food Babe and Lisa Leake from 100 Days of Real Food started the petition a month ago.

Hari told Humber News she and Leake are asking Kraft to keep Yellow #5 and Yellow #6 dyes out of Kraft Dinner.

In a video, Leake and Hari said they chose to petition Kraft Dinner because it’s such an iconic food product.

Hari told Humber News that the dyes increase the risk of hyperactivity in children, asthma, allergies and migraines. There is also a carcinogen risk, she said.

Leake and Hari posted a video describing the effects of the dyes March 5. They received negative comments from YouTube users telling them to make their own foods instead of trying to change KD.

Hari said eliminating the dyes would take away the major risks as well.

“The problem with these people that are saying ‘oh, you’re just making something less healthy”, they’re missing the big picture,” she said. “The big picture is that these kids and children in the American public should not be eating foods that are made out of petroleum products that pose risks through studies and require warning labels in Europe.”

Hari is in Chicago today to deliver the petition signatures, but she said Kraft hasn’t agreed to meet with her.

“I’m making it easy for them,” she said. “I’ll be at their front door. Hopefully they’ll let me in.”

Clare Politano, communications coordinator at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told Humber News the center has been researching the effects of Yellow #5 and Yellow #6.

“The dyes are petroleum-based,” said Politano. “The yellow dyes are often contaminated with known carcinogens. There’s a significant link, or at least correlation, between the artificial dyes and hyperactivity in children.”

She said artificial dyes aren’t illegal in Europe, but companies are required to put warning labels on packaging. The presence of these dyes in foods has reduced since the warning labels became mandatory.

Kraft Foods’ media didn’t return calls in time for the article.

Petition video

[youtube id=”0lWQFKbI0dg” width=”620″ height=”360″]