Safety groups in the UK are pressing for a ban on artificial food colors, according to the BBC News:

A food safety watchdog has called for a Europe-wide ban on six artificial food colourings after research found a link with hyperactivity in children.

A total ban on the use of the colours would have to be agreed by the EU.

So the Foods Standard Agency wants UK ministers to push for voluntary removal of the colours by next year.

I love this nugget of wisdom from the agency:

But the FSA added that as there were no nutritional benefits from the additives, there would be no cost or risk to the child in removing them from the diet.

The article quotes a food industry representative who says companies are already working to remove certain artificial color ingredients from food. I guess this is what is meant by a voluntary ban.

Sunset yellow (E110) – Colouring found in squashes
Carmoisine (E122) – Red colouring in jellies
Tartrazine (E102) – New colouring in lollies, fizzy drinks
Ponceau 4R (E124) – Red colouring
Quinoline yellow (E104) – Food colouring
Allura red AC (E129) – Orange/red food dye

I just checked the last entry on Wikipedia, Allura red AC, and found that this was introduced in the US to replace E123 and is derived from coal tar and a South and Central American beetle.

Disgusting.

The other colors listed above are related, and probably have a similar source. All of them are already banned in Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and Austria.

America has not only approved it for food, according to Wikipedia, but also for cosmetics, tatoo inks, and last but not least drugs including…children’s medications!

With no “cost or risk” of removing the dye, and voluntary or legal bans in other countries, why are they still so popular in America? Go figure.

The regulatory body in the US seems lax to me, but an article in the Chemical & Engineering News praises the FDA for “strictly controlled conditions” and “very high standards of purity”. Notice they do not say “healthy”.

No matter where it comes from, any color added to our food is carefully regulated by the Food & Drug Administration to ensure it is safe to eat and is correctly labeled.

Ensure is such a definitive word. Safe to eat?

According to literature provided by Sensient, a major ingredient in the bitter Italian liquor Campari is an exempt dye called carminic acid. This vibrant magenta additive originates from the dried, crushed bodies of pregnant female scale insects called cochineal

I see. Apparently insects qualify as a natural source, so the regulators give them an exemption from being certified but they still have to be approved. It appears the FDA favors blurring the lines, with a cynical view of “natural”, while EU nations are seeking greater safety in their language and for the health of their children.