July 23, 2015 – After 4-year-old Trenton Shutters began preschool, his behavior modified dramatically. When things didn't go his way, “he would collapse to the point where he was inconsolable,” recalls his mother, Renee Shutters. Trenton had nightmares and couldn't sleep through the night.Shutters explored every possible explanation, even bipolar disorder. Then one other parent suggested that food coloring may very well be the cause. Shutters' online research found that many parents had concerns about food dyes and hyperactivity. On Trenton's fifth birthday, Shutters and her son put a tragic sticker on all of the artificially coloured foods in her pantry, and Trenton stopped eating them.Within two days, Trenton's nightmares stopped. The same goes for his nervous breakdowns at college. The 11-year-old has been dye-free for six years now and excels at college, within the band, within the orchestra and in ice hockey.For Shutters, eliminating dyes from her own son's weight loss plan wasn't enough.Two years ago, she joined a growing consumer movement directly calling on food manufacturers to alter their policies or practices. Shutters' Change.org petition calls on Mars, Inc. to remove petroleum-based artificial colours, including Red 40 and Yellow 5, from M&M's. “Many families may never recognize the connection between skin color and behavior. Or they don’t have the time, energy and resources to monitor their children’s nutrition like I did,” she says.Online petitions might be powerful tools to bring about change. Controversial food blogger Vani Hari, the self-proclaimed “Food Babe,” used a petition to persuade Kraft to remove yellow dyes 5 and 6 from its macaroni and cheese. Mississippi teenager Sarah Kavanagh's petitions pushed Gatorade after which Powerade to remove brominated vegetable oil (BVO) – a chemical flame retardant – from their products. Online petitioners also received “pink slime” – a heavily processed beef mixture – from school lunch menus.“The online petition is a way for you to get your message out quickly,” said Mike Jones, Change.org’s U.S. senior campaign director. “The more signatures they get, the more they start conversations on social media, the more press coverage they get, and the more companies at the center of these petitions take notice.”The power of social media
The reach that social media provides petitioners is crucial. “Most mid-sized food companies will have their own Facebook page and they will monitor (consumer complaints) very carefully,” said Bob Hibbert, an attorney who advises food manufacturers on FDA and USDA regulations.
Social media can force corporations to reply to consumer demands in a method or one other, Hibbert says. “One option is to change the ingredient. And another way is to communicate why it’s safe.”
Chick-fil-A says it responded to consumer demands when it decided to supply antibiotic-free chicken and take away some artificial ingredients, including yellow dye, from a few of its menu items.
McDonald's announced an identical initiative in March, saying it could only source chicken meat “raised without antibiotics important to human medicine.” Milk from cows that aren't treated with the synthetic growth hormone rbST can be served.
The company cited consumer demand because the motivation for the change. With the “Our Food, Your Questions” campaign, the fast food giant usually responds to consumer inquiries via social media.
Why goal company?
Before starting her online petition, Shutters testified in a 2011 hearing where several witnesses called on the FDA to ban artificial food dyes. The agency heard testimony from health advocates in addition to the British researcher who conducted two of the most important studies on the link between dyes and hyperactivity. These studies led the European Union to require that each one foods containing artificial colours carry warning labels. Ultimately, the FDA required more scientific evidence before it could justify a ban or warnings within the US
“A consumer can certainly go to the FDA, but they have to have sound science, and the FDA is free to take its time and be deliberate,” Hibbert says.
Many of the ingredients in query lack solid scientific evidence that they might be harmful to health. However, if consumers direct their complaints to food manufacturers, all they need to do is prove that they don't just like the ingredient. You don't need to prove that it's poisonous.
“Food companies, like other companies, will respond to the needs of their customers. If the company suddenly asks “Why do you use this ingredient?” B. on social media or in online petitions, the corporate could change [the ingredient] as a substitute of fighting,” says Hibbert.
Companies often stick by their ingredients even once they promise to make changes. “Although no significant difference was found between milk from rbST-treated and non-rbST-treated cows, we understand this is important to our customers,” said Marion Gross, senior vp of McDonald's North American supply chain. in a press release.
Crowds of supporters
In two years, greater than 182,000 people have signed Shutters' petition – 90% of its goal of 200,000. She credits the Center for Science within the Public Interest for a part of the petition's success. The health organization shares Shutter's views on artificial colours and co-sponsored her petition.
Like many other petitions, it refers to other countries' positions on the ingredients in query. Shutters points out that M&Ms in Europe don't contain artificial colours. “In Europe they have made it public that they are making the change because they care about children’s health,” she says. “Why do we get the bad stuff?”
Nestle, a competitor to Mars, announced in February that it could eliminate artificial colours and flavors by the top of this 12 months.
Mars said in a press release that it has “absolute confidence in the safety of all the ingredients we use, regardless of where our products are sold in the world.” Mars has FDA approval for using spirulina, an algae used to make natural blue and green food colours. The company has not yet integrated the ingredient into its products. It describes the FDA approval as “a step toward the possibility” of using natural colours.
Shutters itself also spreads the message to the general public. She gives lectures about food coloring in clubs, churches and schools.
Mars hasn't stopped using artificial dyes, but Shutters considers the journey a hit. “What we’re really doing is raising awareness,” she says. “Think about the difference this could make in the lives of so many families.”
Even if food corporations never request the change in a petition, many petitioners see the increased awareness of their issue as a win.
“Maybe they didn't win their election campaign entirely, but maybe they created a month's worth of coverage on the issue,” Jones says. “For some petition starters, the sheer number of signatures and the national conversation it starts is a victory.”