Maria Godoy
Appearances
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
Okay, so the U.S. declared measles eliminated in 2000, and that just means there's not ongoing transmission for greater than 12 months in an area. But the U.S. has reported measles cases every year. It's usually unvaccinated people, you know, who are bringing measles back from traveling abroad. We see these all the time. We've seen that this year in Alaska and Maryland, where I live.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
An outbreak is different. It's when the virus is spreading locally. And right now, the virus is spreading in remote areas of West Texas and New Mexico. The concern is that you might have someone who is sick and then they travel to another area where vaccination rates are low and they could potentially seed another outbreak there. OK. And at that point, how do you stop that from happening?
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
So measles is the most contagious infectious disease known to man. It's more contagious than Ebola, than polio, than chickenpox. It's so contagious that in a world where no one's vaccinated, one person sick with measles could go on to infect 18 others on average. And it's airborne, which means these infectious particles can linger in the air for up to two hours.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
So if you have a sick person walk into a room, cough, leave, and then an hour later someone comes in, they could potentially get infected and pass it on to others. The other thing is you're infectious from about four days before you develop that telltale red measles rash until four days after. So that's, you know, eight days really where you could be spreading it to others.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
Now, the good news is the measles vaccine is very safe and highly effective. Two doses of the vaccine is 97 percent effective, which, yeah. And you need high vaccination rates in a community so that there's no one vulnerable to measles. And so the virus has really nowhere to go and spread.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
It depends on which part of the federal government you're talking about. So the CDC has issued a measles alert and, you know, asked doctors to be on the lookout for people with fevers and the red rashes. It's sent vaccines to Texas. And it says unequivocally vaccination is the best defense against measles.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
But when it comes to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Health and Human Services Secretary, he wrote an editorial piece for Fox and he's been on Fox in an interview. He has said vaccines protect individuals from measles and, you know, they contribute to community immunity. But he's also called vaccination a personal choice and he didn't outright urge people to get vaccinated.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
The other thing he said was that good nutrition is a best defense against chronic and infectious diseases, which, again, the public health line has long been that when it comes to measles, vaccination is absolutely the best defense.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
The other thing he's done that has puzzled public health experts I've talked to is he's focused on treatments like vitamin A rather than stressing vaccination. Wait, vitamin A?
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
Okay, so this is not completely without a kernel of truth. Vitamin A does have a role in the treatment of measles in that there are studies dating back decades, usually from low and middle income countries, that show that when you give vitamin A to kids who are malnourished and deficient in vitamin A, it can reduce the risk of dying from measles.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
And it can also help prevent complications like blindness from measles. So the American Academy of Pediatrics does recommend giving two doses of vitamin A to kids sick with measles to help prevent those complications. But that is not the same thing as saying that vitamin A prevents or protects you against measles. Exactly. Right. It can't do that.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
But the concern here is that, you know, parents might hear that and think that. And in fact, there is misinformation going around online suggesting falsely that vitamin A can protect against measles. And, you know, there are concerns that parents might be giving kids vitamin A dosage long term to protect them against measles, which you can't do.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
But it can actually be harmful because vitamin A builds up in your body and over time it can be toxic. Right.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
That's absolutely false. The vaccine is very safe and highly effective. Again, two doses, 97 percent effective. Meanwhile, measles is still a dangerous virus. It can kill. You know, before we had vaccines, four to five hundred kids used to die in the U.S. each year from measles. And it can cause blindness, deafness, brain swelling. The virus can also have long-term effects.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
So after a measles infection, to some extent, your immune system's memory can be erased, which means that pathogens your body used to know how to defeat, it no longer remembers how to defeat them. So you're not immune anymore. And this effect can last two to three years. I know. It's called immune amnesia. And it can even cause neurological problems years after infection.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
I want to stress that there's no reason to panic right now. Vaccination rates are still high enough nationwide in most places to stop a major outbreak from happening. But if vaccination rates continue to fall, as they have been over the last several years, you know, in five to 10 years, experts I spoke with say we might
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
go back to the days when we had measles outbreaks with thousands of cases and many deaths. Well, how can people better protect themselves right now? Get vaccinated if you're not already. Make sure you've had two shots of the measles vaccine. And, you know, get your kids vaccinated, too.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
Parents can talk to their pediatricians about getting younger kids vaccinated early if they're traveling abroad or are in an outbreak area. In fact, the CDC says anybody traveling abroad with an infant six months or older should, you know, get them vaccinated early. It's usually more about 12 months. That's the schedule.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
If you're not sure about your own vaccination status and you can't check your immunization records, there's no harm in getting another dose.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
They're really, really low. So no vaccine is 100% effective, but measles is pretty darn high, 97% effective. And you know what? The more people in a community are vaccinated, the more effective the vaccine is for everyone.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
And not only that, but he's also been involved in legal challenges to things like the HPV vaccine. which prevents cervical cancer. I've talked to pediatricians who said they've had parents coming in asking, can my kid get that one early? Because they're worried that maybe in the future there might not be as much access. So I think you're seeing vaccine enthusiasm as well as vaccine hesitancy.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
Measles is probably the most contagious infectious disease known to mankind. It's really kind of like the canary in the coal mine in terms of pointing out where the holes in the public health system is.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
Right. It's not always about vaccine hesitancy. Sometimes it's just vaccine access. And one thing we should note is that NIH has cut grants to people who are researching these issues, like what is preventing vaccine uptake and how do we boost it? You know, studying vaccine hesitancy, vaccine access, vaccine acceptance.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
It might be harder to see how these trends are changing in the future when you don't have the money to fund the research to figure that out.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
Yeah, the link between vaccines and autism that does not exist and has been repeatedly debunked. Yes. Yeah, that one. I've talked to infectious disease modelers about this. And yeah, if the trends that we've been seeing, you know, over the last several years in terms of falling vaccination rates continue, we could be seeing measles outbreaks not that far out into the future.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
And in fact, what we're seeing play out now is what people have been warning will happen, you know, for years. Like right now, you have high vaccination rates in most of the country, but you have these pockets of vulnerability that allow outbreaks to take hold, like we're seeing in West Texas, we're seeing in Oklahoma.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
But yeah, the more people buy into false messaging, the more vulnerable we all become. The more we could see the days, again, where you have dozens, hundreds of deaths.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
Before we had a measles vaccine developed in the early 1960s, measles used to kill 400 to 500 people in the U.S. every year. That's actually one of the reasons we find ourselves having outbreaks, right, because people forget how powerful the measles vaccine is and what devastation it prevents.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
So what you have is parents giving kids vitamin A under the false belief that it can prevent measles. And that can actually be really, really harmful. And you're seeing that now in West Texas. There have been children who have measles hospitalized for vitamin A toxicity.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
What's interesting is that health officials in Texas say, despite the measles outbreak, despite the fact that we have had the death of a child there last month, they're not having as much uptake as they would like in terms of vaccination, because that's part of how you would respond to an outbreak. You go in and you vaccinate anyone who is unvaccinated, and that's how you stop it.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
But they're still not getting the uptake they would like to see. And so you have super low vaccination rates in this Gaines County, Texas, where the outbreak began last year. low 80 percentile vaccination against measles, which is serious because you need to have vaccination rates about 95 percent to prevent community outbreaks.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
This place was pretty much primed, basically, for an outbreak to spread easily. And that's what we're seeing.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
One of the things with disinformation is that sometimes there's a kernel of truth there that gets twisted, right? And like Brandy's saying, you lose the nuance. So for instance, I'm thinking of vitamin A, right? We've heard RFK Jr. promote vitamin A as a treatment for measles. And it's not completely out of left field, but that role is very specific and it cannot prevent measles, right?
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
And it's not really a treatment. What it does is there are studies from low and middle income countries that show when you have kids who are malnourished and vitamin A deficient, Giving them vitamin A supplementation can help reduce the risk of dying and of complications. And even in the absence of malnutrition, there is some evidence that the measles virus seems to deplete your vitamin A stores.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
And so there are recommendations from the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics to give kids with measles two doses, but just two doses of vitamin A to help prevent some complications like blindness, right? Mm-hmm. But that does not make it a treatment.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
And that's, you know, some of the disinformation that's been out there for years, really, that vitamin A can prevent measles, which it can absolutely cannot. And so what you have is parents giving kids vitamin A, you know, repeatedly long term under the false belief that it can prevent measles. And that can actually be really, really harmful.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
Vitamin A builds up in the body and it can be toxic to the liver. And you're seeing that now in West Texas. There have been children who have measles hospitalized for vitamin A toxicity.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
That's actually been around for a while, though. It was that rumor that the vitamin A idea that it could prevent measles.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
Coming up... He has said during his confirmation hearing that he will preserve access to vaccines, but they're concerned because they know he's challenged it. You know, they know his sister with challenging measles vaccine and other, you know, routine childhood vaccinations. How RFK Jr. 's inconsistencies are motivating worried parents.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
Well, so I've actually been talking to pediatricians across the country who have seen this vaccine enthusiasm. So that's sort of like the upside of this, you know, very worrying measles outbreak is that, you know, we talk about vaccine hesitancy and vaccination rates dropping, but as one pediatrician told me, the vast majority of parents are still vaccinating.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
Even though those vaccination rates, you know, the routine kindergarten vaccination rates have been dropping, they're still high. And so pediatricians say they've been hearing those voices more, I think in part because of concerns about, That, well, obviously they don't want their kids exposed to measles and it is spreading.
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
There are outbreaks in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Ohio, and it is spring break season. People are traveling. They're worried they might encounter someone with measles and their kid might get sick. So pediatricians are having parents call say like, can I get my kid vaccinated early, you know? Should they get a second one now?
It's Been a Minute
When adults reject vaccines, children pay the price
Part of it is a concern about future access because parents who watch the news who know Kennedy's history, he has said during his confirmation hearing that he will preserve access to vaccines. But they're concerned because they know he's challenged it. You know, they know his sister with measles and vaccine, challenging measles vaccine and other, you know, routine childhood vaccinations.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-26-2025 6PM EDT
By age 18, many young adults already have high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, or type 2 diabetes, according to the American Heart Association. It says a growing number of younger adults are experiencing adverse cardiovascular events.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-26-2025 6PM EDT
One challenge is that as adolescents transition into young adulthood, they may stop going for regularly scheduled doctor's visits, such as vaccinations or sports checkups. In some states, without expanded Medicaid access, young adults can lose Medicaid coverage when they turn 19.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-26-2025 6PM EDT
In its statement, the American Heart Association says it's important to support policies that expand insurance access across the lifespan. It also calls for leveraging telehealth to increase health care use among young adults. Maria Godoy, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-08-2025 3PM EST
The CDC says thanks to high vaccination rates and strong surveillance programs, the risk for widespread measles in the United States remains low. It emphasizes that the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine remains the most important tool for preventing measles. The agency is urging all U.S.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-08-2025 3PM EST
residents to make sure they're up to date with their measles vaccinations, especially before traveling anywhere internationally. That includes infants six months or older who are traveling abroad. The CDC says teens and adults in areas with an ongoing measles outbreak who previously only got one dose of measles vaccine should get a second dose. Maria Godoy, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-31-2025 4PM EST
Kids' cereals are the most heavily advertised food product to children. In the study, researchers at the University of Connecticut's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health looked at advertising to households and subsequent cereal purchases over nine years. They found a strong relationship between how much TV advertising was targeted at kids under 12 And how much sugary cereals households bought?
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-31-2025 4PM EST
Just nine high-sugar cereals dominated sales. Study author Jennifer Harris says, by contrast, there was no link to increased purchases when ads targeted adults. Parents probably wouldn't buy them if their kids weren't asking them for them. The research appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Maria Godoy, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-23-2025 8PM EST
women with ADHD lived an average of nine years less. Prior research has found that factors including smoking, sleep, exercise, nutrition, and risky driving are key factors behind the shorter lifespans in adults with ADHD. Researchers say these factors are linked to impulsivity, which can be treated.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-23-2025 8PM EST
The findings are in line with other research that finds untreated ADHD raises the risk of serious health problems such as diabetes and heart disease. Maria Godoy, NPR News.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
So every year, the U.S. reports cases of measles. Even though the disease was declared eliminated here in 2000, that just means there wasn't sustained transmission in the country for at least a 12-month period. But, you know, measles is still a big problem globally. So an unvaccinated person or child who travels to a country where measles is spreading can bring the virus back home.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
You mentioned Alaska. That was a case where an unvaccinated adult had traveled abroad. And there were also cases in Maryland and Kentucky involving people who were returning from international travel.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
Right. So that's when the virus starts spreading locally, like it's doing now in West Texas and just over the border in New Mexico. And that's what concerns public health officials right now. The outbreak is still pretty much spreading in very remote rural areas where vaccination rates are low. But measles is highly contagious.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
So if an infected person travels to another community with low vaccination rates, they could potentially seed another outbreak there.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
So symptoms generally begin about 7 to 14 days after infection. It can start with high fever, a cough, runny nose, red, watery eyes like pink eye. Eventually, you develop a red rash that usually starts on your face and can travel down your body. That rash is the telltale sign of measles. And here's the really important thing.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
You can be contagious spreading measles four days before and four days after that rash appears.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
Well, so measles is airborne, right? So you walk into a room, you cough, you know, you talk, you spread infectious particles. They hang there in the air for up to two hours. You leave the room. Somebody else comes in. They're not vaccinated. An hour later, they could get infected. And when we say it's highly contagious, it's probably the most contagious infectious disease known to mankind.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
Like more contagious than Ebola, more contagious than polio, more contagious than chickenpox. Wow. It's so contagious. I think this is really worth hammering home. In an unvaccinated world, every person infected with measles on average would go on to infect as many as 18 other people. Wow.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
And just for context, when COVID first appeared, the estimate is that for every person infected with COVID, they went on to infect roughly three other people. And we saw how COVID spread. So yeah, it's highly, highly contagious.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
vaccination. That is the key, right? The measles vaccine is super effective. So one dose is 93% effective, which means 93% of people will have an immune response. Two doses is 97% effective. And you really need that because the estimates are that you need about 95% of people in a community affected to stop outbreaks from occurring, right? You need high vaccination rates.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
Once you have an outbreak, you want to go and vaccinate anyone around who is not vaccinated. And then you also need good contact tracing, which means you need the people to be figuring out who was exposed and contacting them right away before they go and expose others and spread this.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
The vaccine is... Mm-hmm. But it used to kill 400 to 500 people every year in this country. And even today, measles can have serious consequences. As many as 1 in 20 cases result in pneumonia. 1 in 1,000 kids will die or end up with severe brain swelling called encephalitis. And it can also lead to blindness.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
Correct. So this is something that happens to some extent in every single measles infection. I talked to Stephen Elledge. He's a researcher at Harvard. And he explained that it's kind of like your immune system gets amnesia.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
Basically what happens is the measles virus can destroy the cells that retain the memory of how to fight pathogens that your body has previously defeated.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
And this amnesia, like the extent of it can vary widely. His studies of unvaccinated kids who were recovered from measles found that anywhere from like 11 to 73 percent of their antibodies had been wiped out after an infection. Wow. And this effect can last two to three years.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
Yeah, at this point, there's really no need to panic. Vaccination rates are still high enough in most of the country to stop a major deadly outbreak from spreading widely.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
But if vaccination rates continue to fall as they have been for several years now, experts I've spoken with say in 5 to 10 years, we could be back to the days where measles outbreaks regularly infected thousands of people and killed kids every year. Yeah.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
It depends on which officials you're talking about. The CDC issued an alert recently in response to the measles outbreak urging people who aren't vaccinated to get vaccinated, especially if you're traveling abroad. And that includes any baby six months and older. And by the way, I should note it's traveling abroad anywhere.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
But when we're talking about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the head of the Health and Human Services Department, his messaging is a little bit more mixed. He wrote an editorial earlier this month that's gotten a lot of attention. He did say that, you know, vaccines are an important tool to keep children safe and create community immunity to protect everyone.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
But he also kind of focused on some other things that left some public health experts, actually, that left every public health expert I've spoken with puzzled. One of the things he said was that good nutrition is the best defense against infectious diseases. That's puzzling because the best defense against measles is vaccination. That's what stops an outbreak. That's what stops the infection.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
And, you know, Kennedy called vaccination a personal choice. He didn't outright say, go get vaccinated. Right. And the other thing is RFK Jr. spent a lot of time talking about treatments like vitamin A. Yeah, what's with vitamin A? Well, okay, so the vitamin A does have a role in the treatment of measles.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
Both the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend supplementation with two doses of vitamin A for kids who have measles. That's because there are studies done in low and middle income communities countries several decades ago now that found that when kids are malnourished and are vitamin A deficient, they can have worse outcomes, right?
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
So vitamin A supplementation can decrease the risk of death and severe disease with measles. There's also some evidence that even if you're not vitamin A deficient beforehand, measles seems to deplete your vitamin A stores. But here's the thing. Vitamin A cannot prevent measles. That's a piece of misinformation that anti-vaccine
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
promoters have been circulating for years and it's still out there on social media. Okay. Some of these people wrongly promote the idea that if you give your kids vitamin A supplementation for a long period of time, that can protect them from measles.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
Exactly. Exactly. And it's actually dangerous potentially because vitamin A builds up in your body and it can be toxic to the liver. So how can people then protect themselves? Get vaccinated if you haven't been already and get your kids vaccinated.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
You know, parents can talk to their pediatricians about getting younger kids vaccinated early if they're traveling abroad or if they live in an outbreak area. I've talked to doctors in New Mexico and in all parts of the U.S., actually, who are seeing vaccine enthusiasm, you know, where people are are asking, can I get the shot early for my kid, please?
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
Because they're taking this outbreak seriously. If you are an adult who was born after 1957 and were vaccinated before 1968, you may want to get revaccinated. Early versions of the measles vaccine weren't as effective. And, you know, if you're not sure about your vaccination status, you can check your records.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
If you don't have access to those or you just can't find them, there's no harm in getting another shot.
Short Wave
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
Although just to clarify, Gina, those cases have been tied to international travel and not to the Texas outbreak.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
Okay, Maria, tell me about this petition.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
Well, so this petition requested the FDA look into whether the Delaney Clause applied to red dye number three. And it included two studies that showed male lab rats exposed to very high levels of the food coloring developed cancer. Just male lab rats? Yeah, because historically scientists just used male rats in many experiments because they thought female hormone cycles would skew the results.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
There's actually been an effort to change that.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
Right. So back in 1990, the FDA banned the use of red number three in cosmetics and medicated ointments and lotions. But the agency concluded it was safe for humans in the amounts used in food. It basically argued that humans aren't going to be eating red dye number three in amounts large enough to cause cancer.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
The FDA says it has evaluated the safety of red number three multiple times since its original approval for use in food in 1969. But other countries have come to different conclusions. So the dye is banned or severely restricted in many places, Australia, Japan, and many European Union countries, too. And in 2023, California became the first U.S.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
state to ban red number three, although that ban doesn't take effect until 2027. Oh.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
I mean, that's what a lot of people want to know. Yeah. So consumer groups have welcomed this move by the FDA. But honestly, they're pretty upset that it took this long considering the evidence linking the dye to cancer in rats has been around for 30 years. Yeah. Dr. Peter Lurie is the executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
Yeah. So they announced that they're banning the food dye red number three or in FDA terms, that's revoking authorization.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
And, you know, that's the group that brought the petition. And he's been nudging the FDA for years to act.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
It's in a lot of foods. Now, I should note that manufacturers are constantly reformulating their products, but there's a list of more than 3,000 packaged foods and drinks that contain Red 3. It's compiled by the Environmental Working Group. Mm-hmm. And it includes everything from fruit cocktail to flavored milk, cake mixes to candy. Yeah.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
And, you know, consumer groups' worries go beyond both red number three and its link to cancer. They're also worried about eight other synthetic food dyes in the food supply. You know, they come in different colors like red 40, yellow 5. And there's evidence linking all these dyes to behavioral issues in kids. Oh, really? What kinds of issues?
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
Well, studies suggest food dyes can make some children and adolescents hyperactive, irritable, inattentive, or moody. Dr. Mark Miller was the lead author of a 2022 paper that reviewed the existing evidence in animals and humans. Here's what he told NPR back in 2023.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
So Mark was part of a team of scientists with California's Environmental Protection Agency that reviewed the body of evidence on synthetic dyes in foods. And out of more than 25 studies, more than half of those identified an association between artificial food coloring consumption and these symptoms in children.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
And, you know, in addition to banning red number three, last year, California passed a second law banning a group of six other synthetic food dyes in school meals, including blue one, green three, red 40, yellow six, a whole rainbow of synthetic food dyes.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
For half a century, actually, and it's in thousands of products. It's a petroleum-based dye that's in everything from candy to all sorts of snack foods and sodas, too, because it gives products this very bright cherry red color. And in 2002, a petition was filed with the FDA to ban the dye.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
Yeah, well, there are advocacy groups that want the FDA to go further. Here's Peter again with the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
And, you know, this is also a health disparities issue because research suggests that low-income communities are exposed to a lot more synthetic food dyes.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
Can you tell me more about that? Like, why? The short answer is that these dyes are more common in cheaper foods. So we're talking ultra-processed foods that are designed to be shelf-stable. Think sugary snacks and drinks that are bright and colorful, and so they appeal to kids.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
And there's evidence that people experiencing food insecurity eat more of this stuff because it's what's available and affordable.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
No, not at all. So food manufacturers have until January 2027 to eliminate red dye number three from their products. But some manufacturers could reformulate more quickly because companies have known that an FDA ban was a possibility for a while now. Hmm. And of course, California has already banned several of these food dyes.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
And often when California acts on an issue, it's a big enough state that it prompts manufacturers to change their products to comply just across the board.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
Yeah, so consumer groups worry that some manufacturers may just replace red number three with red 40. And in fact, some food manufacturers have done that. And red 40, like other synthetic food dyes, has been linked to behavior issues in kids. While it's not banned in Europe, its use is more restricted.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
So foods sold in the EU that contain red 40 and other dyes have to carry a health warning that says they may, quote, have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children. Wow. But there are natural food colorings from compounds found in fruits and vegetables. Turmeric and beetroot are some common options.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
You can get green colors from chlorophyll, which is that green pigment found in plant stems and leaves. And, you know, there is precedent for this kind of change. So when Kraft Foods decided to take synthetic food dyes out of its mac and cheese products about a decade ago, it replaced them with colors from spices like paprika and turmeric. Wow.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
I think the advice is fundamentally the same when it comes to eating, no matter what we're talking about, which is focus on feeding your kids plant-based foods, fruits and vegetables, beans, whole grains, the things we should all be eating for our health, grownups too. If you're concerned about synthetic food dyes, check the label.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
So the FDA has been reviewing the petition and the evidence ever since in an effort to comply with a provision from a 1958 law known as the Delaney Clause. What does the Delaney cause? So it's part of a series of laws that were passed following hearings in the early 1950s by Representative James Delaney.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
By law, these synthetic food dyes have to be listed on the ingredient label. So just when you're shopping for packaged foods, make sure that they don't have them if you want to avoid them. And then also just try to limit ultra-processed foods, which are often high in salt, sugar, and saturated fat, and low in fiber, which means they're not great for you anyway. But I'm a parent of two kids.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
I know what's out there. I know what they like to eat. And so, like, if your kid eats a bright red cupcake at a friend's birthday party, you know, definitely don't panic. Just focus on keeping their overall pattern of eating healthy. The occasional bright orange cheesy puff isn't going to kill them. Although it might stain their teeth for a while. Yeah, or their fingers and cause cleanup for you.
Short Wave
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
This one targets food additives, and it says specifically no food additive can be authorized if it's been found to cause cancer. So today on the show, red dye number three. What the research shows about its link to cancer, what other dyes you should be aware of, and what parents should know before letting their kids eat artificially colored food. I'm Emily Kwong.