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Our Response to Kraft’s Letter: It’s Time To Surrender Your Artificial Dyes

 

It’s been a little over one week since we started a petition to remove artificial food dyes from Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. We have over 228,000 signatures and, while we heard from Kraft right after the petition launched, it was not the response we were hoping for.

We thought it would be important to share their response and exact letter with you, so you can understand exactly what we are up against.

Below you’ll see Kraft’s letter to us along with our specific response and reaction in bold.

From Kraft:

Thanks for contacting us. The safety and quality of our products is our highest priority and we take consumer concerns very seriously. We carefully follow the laws and regulations in the countries where our products are sold. So in the U.S., we only use colors that are approved and deemed safe for food use by the Food and Drug Administration.

Our Response: When Kraft found out the safety of artificial food dyes was in question in Europe – why didn’t they make the “safety” of U.S. citizens their highest priority, too? Food is food – whether in our country or someone else’s – why not make all Kraft products standardized to the highest safety regulation across the board? Kraft was able to reformulate their products without artificial dyes in the U.K. without noticeably changing the color or taste – we even taste tested it ourselves just to prove this point. We know it can be done; Kraft doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel.

To further prove this point – Kraft stated this fact themselves by reformulating Lunchables in the UK without “compromising quality, taste and food safety.”

“Kraft Foods UK has no products aimed at children that contain the ingredients highlighted in the FSA [Southampton] study. . . . [W]ith our recent Lunchables reformulation in the UK, we reduced fat and salt, as well as removed artificial colours and flavours. Without compromising quality, taste and food safety, we will continue to see where we can make changes and still meet consumer expectations.”—Kraft Foods UK (Quote Taken from AllergyKids Foundation)

Because Kraft has not willingly and proactively reformulated their products in the US, it’s obvious to us that Kraft’s highest priority is their bottom line. We are asking Kraft, a multi-billion dollar company, to be the leader in the US Food Industry by voluntarily removing artificial dyes and owning up to the statements they make about safety and quality of their products. 

From Kraft: We expanded our line of KRAFT Mac & Cheese (KMC) offerings. We know some people prefer foods without certain ingredients — we now offer a multitude of products without added colors, as well as products with natural food colors including:

  • KMC Organic White Cheddar
  • KMC Organic Cheddar
  • KMC White Cheddar
  • KMC Alfredo
  • KMC Deluxe Original Cheddar
  • KMC Deluxe Four Cheese
  • KMC Deluxe Sharp Cheddar
  • KMC Homestyle Creamy Parmesan Alfredo
  • KMC Homestyle Sharp Cheddar and Bacon
  • KMC Homestyle Classic Cheddar
  • KMC Homestyle Hearty Four Cheese
  • KMC Homestyle Bowl Southwest Tortilla
  • KMC Homestyle Bowl Creamy Broccoli with White Cheddar
  • KMC Cup Alfredo

Our Response: Who prefers food with artificial color? We are not sure many consumers do since it adds no benefit or nutritional value to the foods it’s in and is simply a cheap, cosmetic additive. And what about all the kids that reach for the boxes with cartoon characters? Do you really think they are going to pick out the Organic/Homestyle version over Spongebob? The above options of Macaroni and Cheese without artificial dyes are not targeted towards children, and the versions that are specifically designed for children do contain Yellow #5 and Yellow #6. Children are the ones that are most at risk for complications when consuming artificial dyes. In Europe, a food company is required to use a warning label when using artificial food dyes stating, “May cause adverse effects in activity and attention in children” on the package.

But meanwhile back in the US, Kraft features children regularly in commercials and goes as far as holding essay contests specifically for children to promote the introduction and creation of new product lines containing artificial food dyes – products like “Cheddar Explosion,” “Extreme Cheese Explosion,” and “Grilled Cheese Explosion.”

Since artificial dyes provide no value but do pose risks, we believe it is up to Kraft to voluntarily change their product and stop exploiting the FDA laws to their financial advantage. The 30 or so Kraft varieties that do still contain artificial dyes in the US are unfair to the children lured by these products, unfair to the less fortunate who buy these products because they are cheaper, and unfair to the uneducated consumer that is unaware of these potentially harmful ingredients.

Kraft Kids

Even the FDA admits we should be concerned, stating the following on their website:

“Exposure to food and food components, including AFC [Artificial Food Colors] and preservatives, may be associated with behavioral changes, not necessarily related to hyperactivity, in certain susceptible children with ADHD and other problem behaviors, and possibly in susceptible children from the general population.”


Yellow #5 and #6 both have not been retested since their approval – do we have confidence in the FDA to keep up to date on health risks considering there were 91 artificial dyes (allowed in food, drugs, cosmetics, or medical devices) that were at one point approved by the FDA that are now no longer authorized or have been restricted?

Also what about all the big restaurant chains like Applebee’s, IHOP, Perkins, Denny’s, Longhorn Steakhouse, Bob Evans and Steak n’ Shake offering “Kraft Macaroni & Cheese” in kids meals and on menus across the country? These children do not get a choice between mac & cheese with or without dyes – instead they are solely offered the riskier option.

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From Kraft: We appreciate the opportunity to share this information with you.

Our Response: Sharing this information with us does not address our petition nor does it address our concerns for the health of Americans. We request that Kraft listen to the (228,000+) people signing our petition and the families who have reached out to us directly in concern.

We’ve received numerous letters from parents and people who have had dramatic improvements in the health of their families after removing artificial dyes. Here are just a few excerpts from these hundreds of letters – we hope this finally convinces Kraft to act and remove artificial dyes:

“Artificial dyes caused him to have tantrums that nobody could believe – after eating anything containing dye – absolutely any and everything could set him off into a tantrum and he would scream in such a state of rage that he was unreachable for approx. 50-60 minutes at a time.” – Tracy

 

“My son had very bad eczema along with hyper activity when he was younger.  After years of expensive medicine and creams for his skin we decided to stop eating foods with dyes in them. The results were astounding.  I had a much more manageable child with beautiful skin.” – Renee

 

“My 5 year old son, has horrible reactions to artificial dyes. We’ve always been very cautious about what we eat, we don’t buy products that contain artificial ANYTHING, but we used to let him partake in treats at parties that contain artificial colorings, until we realized the random violent outbursts he was having came only after consuming artificial dyes. Normally, he is a very sweet soul, but the day after Halloween, when we had allowed him to eat skittles, he had a violent outburst in class where he threw a chair. A CHAIR. His teachers were shocked, so were we.” – Emily

 

“We struggled for over 2 years, trying various strategies to stop the tantrums, teach him to self-soothe and calm himself when overstimulated, and help him sleep through the night again. Nothing worked until we eliminated artificial food dyes from his diet when he was 4 1/2 years old. We saw dramatic results just 5 days after eliminating them. He started sleeping through the night consistently for the first time since he was a baby, and his intense and long-lasting tantrums also disappeared.” – Jennifer

 

“My 5 old daughter is hypersensitive to food dyes which we didn’t discover until we took them away. Her behavior was off the charts fighting, screaming, and just plain unhappy. We removed artificial food from her diet, she became a different child. She is happy and compliant. But if she has any thing containing food dye, she losses her mind and will begin to scream, fight, hit the halls. Finally at the age of 5 she is able to tell me when she has a headache and its alway after having something containing artificial food dye at school. This can’t be just a coincidence!! I mean every time my daughter has artificial food dye she is in pain!” – Kelli

 

“My 14 year old daughter was diagnosed with eczema when she was 3 months old. We have been to many Doctors and have had way to many prescriptions. The triggers for this condition are many. The major ones that we have found that bother her are artificial dyes. As you can imagine, it is very difficult to keep all of them out of our homes. It is something that we need to be mindful of everyday if she wants to stay healthy. I truly believe that all dyes should be banned for our food supply today. Not only our food supply but also from medications, whether over-the-counter or prescription.” – Kerry

 

“One of my sons is allergic to artificial food dye…to the point of it being life-threatening. His breathing becomes labored, he becomes lethargic and we must have (dye-free) Benadryl and an EPI Pen Jr. on hand at all times. Fortunately, we try to eat very naturally so we were able to identify the issue fairly quickly. However, it’s very difficult to protect him from artificial food dye in public, i.e. visiting friends/family, church, schools, etc. It would be a relief to this momma if artificial food dye were out of U.S. food products. ” – Jen

 

“My son has Aspergers, a form of autism. Food dyes significantly affect his behavior sometimes leading to explosive tantrums. Red dye #40 causes aggression and self injury. Blue #2 and yellow #5 affect his communication and emotional state. Basically, he becomes nasty and grumpy. Unable to tell us how he is really feeling, this behavior leads to tantrums. Food dye is not allowed in my house. Why do I care if other children eat it? Because until people are fully educated on the side effects of the poison they feed their children they are not able to make rational choices.” – Michele

 

“My son is adversely affected by artificial colors. Several months ago we removed all foods with artificial colors and flavorings from his diet to see if his behavior would improve. We were amazed to find that by removing these from his diet he has a better attention span and is less fidgety. If there is ever a time when he does eat something with these dyes in it, after about 20 minutes I can tell.” – Christie

 

“My 2 year old daughter breaks out in hives from artificial food dyes.” – Katie

 

“We were having a hard time with his behavioral outbursts when I read an article on how food dyes can often effect kids with ADHD.  I decided for the heck of it to remove them from our home.  We already eat pretty healthy, but Mac and Cheese was one thing that my son loved and was willing to eat.  I switched to the organic brand Annie’s and also now read every thing I buy.  If it contains and food coloring at all, we don’t buy it.  Within a month my son completely changed.  His erratic behavior was gone and he was able to focus a lot more on tasks.  His stimming (self stimulating behaviors that you see with Autism) also decreased significantly. ” – Lori

We hope you join us and demand this change by signing this petition now and sharing it with as many people as you know. Together we can make our voices heard!

With Much Love,

Vani

 

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62 responses to “Our Response to Kraft’s Letter: It’s Time To Surrender Your Artificial Dyes

  1. I screamed when I was flipping through the channels and saw you on Dr. Oz. I was like I READ HER BLOG!!! Awesome job and congratulations!

      1. This article reveals why we need the FDA and/or USDA to pass laws regulating and listing ingredients like GMOs in food. Kraft is the perfect example of how corporations will handle voluntary labeling.

        They will voluntarily not label.

    1. Hear Hear! Dyes are just a part of the problem with Kraft. The company has no real integrity with food– and they are a food company! In other words they can’t be trusted to do things like not use genetically engineered ingredients. They will say that the FDA allows such things– and they are correct– and it is at this level where regulation must occur (we have to realize this is a food safety/ public health issue.) In the meantime: Boycott!

    2. The so called “Monsanto Protection Act” was a rider attached to the federal budget in Congress. Once Congress voted to attach it, the president was left with the choice to veto the federal budget, which included the Violence Against Women Act and many other important and positive pieces of legislation, or to sign it and accept that this one nasty rider was part of the deal. Given the fragile state of the economy and poisonous atmosphere in Congress, a veto would have meant a serious blow to the economy (the Federal government would have had to start laying off tens of thousands of workers) with little hope of a better bill coming back out of Congress any time soon. As for the anti-Monsanto hysteria currently gripping the left (which I count myself part of), I think people are probably over-reacting and exaggerating a good deal. That isn’t to say I think the agri-industry shouldn’t be watched like a hawk for illegal and dangerous practices, but the truth is that humans have been f**king with the genetic structure of food plants for thousands of years, we just have some new tools for doing it more efficiently.

  2. Vani,

    I am so excited to be one of the people challenging Kraft’s processing of food. While relaying this information to my mother she reminded me about my Uncle Paul who worked for the Kraft company his entire adult life, until he retired (over 30 years). He would never touch a Kraft product of any kind. He would never tell why, however, the fact that he would never ever ingest anything from Kraft speaks volumes

    Lisa.

  3. Thank you for bringing the public’s attention to one of the many problems with our food supply. Glad to see this petition hasn’t lost any momentum!!

  4. I find it easy to believe the basically unresponsive letters you recieved from Kraft. It seems that until somethig gets exposed to the mainstream media and is reported as a problem nationally, not much will get done to improve the products or even inform the public to the problems associated with artificial colors and dyes in our food. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “corporations are NOT people”.

  5. Companies do what they can get away with. They are doing something that is allowed. That is the bad part. I hope they listen to you Food Babe! My fingers are crossed, and I signed the petition!

  6. So glad you are going to be on Dr Oz. When? Good for you!!! Standing right behind you in support!

  7. You can add my 8 year old son to the list of children who respond positively to removing artificial food dyes from his diet. He would have random outbursts, he was a bit hyperactive, but he was just naughty! He was almost uncontrollable and his anger was sometimes frightening. I had read about the dyes potential for hyperactivity, etc. so decided to do a test and remove them from his diet. 100% difference! He is calm, and compliant and such a sweet boy! He’s still a kid, but he is able to have control over his emotions and reactions. He is VERY aware of what happens with his behavior with the artificial dyes and even HE is diligent in paying attention and trying to avoid them.

  8. Dr. Oz was such a good segment! You two did awesome and I appreciated that he allowed you to tell the whole story in depth, unlike Good Morning America which merely skimmed the surface. Thank you for taking the lead in the fight for our food!

  9. Wow! This letter is excellent! Very well done! Thank you for looking out for the health, well being and safety of our nation! Lisa and Vani – you are inspirational!!

  10. Thanks for all your hard work. I really like your blog.
    I’ve been telling folks for years that processed foods/artificial ingredients/food dyes are not good for them but nobody seems to care. I have 5 great neices and nephews and they all have medical complications along with behavioral problems but nothing I say to the parents gets through to them. I feel so sorry for the little ones, watching what they go through day in and day out.

    The local news has been showing your story on the news but the talking heads just laugh about it after the episode is played like it’s all a big joke. Makes me so mad!

  11. Persistence pays off. Don’t back down or stop sending them letters… That’s what they want and expect you to do. Their goal is to quietly sweep this under the rug. Keep it up, eventually they will back down!!

  12. I am 13 and i think that the corporations are totally screwing over my generation. its not fair and its not right. I want to thank all the adults who realize something is wrong because not many people do.

  13. I haven’t been this psyched to be a part of something that is truly going to make change happen since the 1960/early 70s. Thanks for generations to come.

  14. Or, just don’t put crap like boxes macaroni and cheese in your body in the first place. Artificial dyes aren’t the only thing wrong with that picture.

    1. John A., I can afford to eat food that doesn’t come from a box, and is fresh and unprocessed. Not everyone is so fortunate. Often the choice is the highly processed (and cheaper!) product, or going without to eat. I fight for those who can’t fight for themselves – and that includes children.

  15. I watched on Dr. Oz and thought wow we just might get someplace. lets boycott them losing money will let them know that we mean business! If we use none of the parent companies products just maybe we will get someplace.

  16. Okay, let’s give ’em a 1-2 punch. The ladies have written a letter, Vani’s gone on Dr. Oz and now it’s time for us consumers to write down this number and call it everyday (just takes about 5 minutes out of your day) to reiterate what we have read previously in the responses from Vani and Lisa. Kraft Customer Service 1-877-535-5666. OUR TURN!

  17. I signed the petition and totally agree. It is such a pain trying to make sure the ingredients in our food is actually safe when that’s just the way it should be. I have to wonder though why not petition the FDA?

  18. As a child back in the 70’s I had intense bouts of hyperactivity, but no one knew why. My mom, being a nurse, looked for answers. She found the Feingold diet which basically takes out everything in your diet, then you add one thing at a time to find the culprit. Guess what was causing it… the artificial colorings and flavorings in one of my favorite snacks… Borden Cheese Kisses. They used to wrap them up like taffy, and I loved them. Within an hour of eating them I would turn into a completely uncontrollable child. I also reacted to apples. Back then they used to color the skin of the apples with artificial red color to make them look more appealing. I’m so grateful my parents didn’t give up on trying to find an answer as to WHY I was acting the way I was. They said after removing artificial flavors and colors from my diet, I became a new kid. That was 40 years ago… So the industry has been doing this for a LONG time. I’m grateful someone (or two) have the courage to take them on!!!! Thank you for what you are doing… you guys are truly awesome!!! And wow, what a difference you are making in this world!!! 🙂

    1. My son had a “non-chocolate” advent calendar this year … he’s peanut allergic and rarely gets chocolate because of that, certainly not much waxy inexpensive chocolate like is in advent calendars … we found one two years ago that he could have … it took about 6 days for me to make the connection between his receiving the chocolate and an hour later becoming a feral beast … the child literally drooled and ran around the house like an over excited puppy, then ended in a 5 minute burst of uncontrollable crying. Imagine if that happened at school? He would have been in special education classes before I could even protest.

      1. My pediatrician at the time (mid 70’s) wanted my parents to put me on Retalin for my hyperactivity. I’m so grateful they refused. It was completely a nutrition-based issue of ingesting food that was toxic. Now granted… having carob cupcakes at birthdays while everyone else had chocolate cake wasn’t always easy…. but I look back on it now and feel truly grateful that they found the reason why I would get hyperactive. Glad you found the connection with your son… I can’t imagine having to go through that as a parent. Luckily my kids don’t seem to have the same food allergies that I had… although I definitely don’t feed them the ‘food-like’ substances that are 90% of our grocery store inventory these days!

  19. Thank you for your diligence in taking on Kraft. I’ve been slowly eliminating packaged food from all vendors from my families diet, primarily due to the kind of response Kraft offered you.

    It’s so easy for ‘food’ producers in this country to adhere to the safety guidelines put in place by the FDA. Special interest groups working on behalf of the food industry “own” many politicians and the politicians influence the FDA, and rarely in any fashion that has citizen’s best interest at heart.

    We are all constantly subjected to the output of an extremely corrupt and greedy system that sadly, we as citizens, put there and leave there.

    Of course, an alternative, perhaps, parallel course to all of this is continued education to people to overcome the blatant lies told by the food industry/FDA and speak with our wallets.

    The rhetorical question is, if Americans continue to buy the garbage products companies put in the grocery stores, what’s the incentive for the companies to stop? Taking the aspect of ‘Because it’s the right thing to do” out of the equation, perhaps we also have a consumer accountability issue as well. If the product is dangerous, as many people now believe dyed products are, why do so many people still buy them?

    Keep up the good fight! Next stop should be the FDA.

  20. Don’t forget all the kids who are fed this stuff by well meaning grandparents. All fine for kids who go to Grandma’s once in awhile for a day or two, but what about kids who have live in grandparents, or see them daily? My mom thinks it is “nice” to give treats, and that kids “NEED” mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, ice cream … When we banned them from the house, minus as occassional treats, she told me, “what is he going to eat? Kids need to have hot dogs and chicken nuggets! He should be eating ice cream sometimes!” Yeah, I shook my head and looked at her weird too … what do you mean, what is he going to eat? Food. Vegetables, Fruit, Grains, Dairy and Meat.

  21. Thank you so much for all your hard work Vani! Keep up the awesomeness! You are truly an inspiration =)

  22. OMG!!!! That is all I can say after reading all of this! I knew my daughter has issues with Red Dye #40 but reading how the other kids are reacting to all of these other dyes amazes me! It completely puts my mind at ease as to what is happening with my daughter! It all makes sense now– those self harming behaviors, those tantrums of complete attack, and the completely irrational behavior that NO doctor has been able to figure out!!!!!

    Please fight this to the end!!! If they can do this for other countries they can do it for us!!!! It is already in production there is no reason they can not do it! Thank you for all your effort! Keep the fight on!

    I know I will join the fight with everyone and not buy any more food with ANY artificial colors!!!

  23. It is a fact that the leadership of the FDA contains individuals that were once big players in agribusiness. Take for example Michael R. Taylor, J.D., the now acting Deputy Commissioner for Foods, Office of Foods at the FDA. He was Vice President for Public Policy at Monsanto Corp. from 1998 to 2001.

    Agribusiness has not only introduced GMO’s into our food supply, but also into the FDA. That is to say, Governmental Manipulative Officers (GMO’s) who write the rules by which Kraft so eagerly complies.

    I agree with an earlier comment regarding boycott. The one string we can pull in the FDA – Agribusiness romance is the purse string. It’s time to start seeing RED (#3) and stop buying this crap.

  24. Keep up the good work. If you can stop using the Artificial coloring other companies are sure to follow!

  25. Way to go FoodBabe! Woo-hoo!!! On behalf of humanity, a Big Thank You
    for all your hard work and pulling out all the stops in exposing the cunning &
    craft that rules Kraft — for and taking them on, like you have.

    All my respect,

    aslav

  26. They don’t care. They don’t care about their consumer’s health. All they care about is making money and it will cost them money to change the packaging and modify the formula.

    We have to stop supporting companies that don’t care about us. My husband used to love making kraft dinner for our boys, until I stopped buying it. Now I boil pasta, mix in some olive oil and grated cheese. They love it the same, if not more. It costs less and I KNOW what is in it.

  27. Vote with your $, don’t buy Kraft products! Certainly don’t let your kids do the grocery shopping & choose the cartoon version. There are brands that do care & make products that are not full of chemicals & garbage.

  28. unlike some ppl, i actually did the research:

    http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/1331.htm

    “In humans, adverse reactions such as urticaria and vasculitis after Tartrazine intake have been reported in a number of studies. Data from animal and human studies have not convincingly demonstrated that
    Tartrazine is able to induce an immune mediated (hypersensitivity) response, and the adverse reactions reported in humans following exposure to Tartrazine appear to be intolerance reactions. The reports of these adverse effects are often characterised by poorly controlled challenge procedures; sometimes Tartrazine is given with a mixture of other colours. In comparison, recent studies performed under properly controlled conditions imply that sensitivity to food additives in patients with chronic urticaria/angioedema or asthma is uncommon. However, given the available information, the Panel concludes that Tartrazine may induce intolerance reactions in a small fraction of the population. The Panel also notes that sensitive individuals may react at dose levels within the ADI. ”

    in other words, ppl who are sensitive to it (and there’s just not that many of them) can react to tartrazine but in a normal, healthy person, it passes through the body intact, meaning it’s not broken down and converted to other substances.

    for those of you blaming food additives for your child’s behaviour, maybe it’s time you realized that diet control will not correct poor discipline.

    and no, i am not a KD fan – i can’t stand the stuff bec it just tastes nasty – but on the rare occasion i make it for my daughter, there is no change in her behaviour that can’t be attributed to any one of a half-dozen other issues, including her asperger’s syndrome.

    with all the actual, genuine, serious problems going on in the world, THIS is what you want to clog up my inbox with???

    1. HAHA! You make me laugh!!! SHE HAS ASPERGER”S SYNDROME!!! DUH! Try eliminating artificial crap from her diet then.

  29. btw: along with her asperger’s, my daughter was diagnosed with ADHD and impulse disorder plus it looks like she’s coming up with OCD. so yeah – i would *definitely* notice if there was a chance in her behaviour due to what she’s eating.

    1. Perhaps you should do the right thing as a parent, and give your daughter a chance to improve. How can this be done if you do not accept the fact that it could be the artificial stuff in her food?

      1. Yes, dumbass. She is autistic and has been since long before she started solids. Going by your logic, autism is caused by breast milk.

      2. Amazing. I guess you missed the part where I said I DID test for it and found no conclusive change in her behavior. And yes, I am fully aware of how to run an elimination diet.

        There simply was no change in her behavior that could be attributed to the food . I was there, you weren’t, and I’m not going to put some conglomerate over my child’s well-being.

  30. Dear Food Babe:

    GMO apologists are fond of informing us GMO skeptics that we are somehow in denial of “science.”

    I just saw this: “GMOs are not the product of genuine science; they are the product of bad technology.”

  31. Excellent work and great initiative. I just found out about your blog and, being new to the US, I was in shock to find so many preservatives, colorants and all sorts of artificial ingredients.
    While I do not agree on banning GMOs (it is nearly impossible to have a sustainable agriculture to feed all the population with regular crops) I am totally averse to artificial ingredients.
    If I may suggest, while corporations will react to your pressure, it may be a slow chain reaction.
    The culprit of such reality is that the FDA allows for such additives and so many more (take BPA, for example: still allowed here).
    Why not include the FDA on your initiative? You can easily get the food regulations for both Europe and US online and start comparing the key points. You would be shocked by how many more aspects European regulators preserve their consumers over their American counterparts.

    European Food Codex: http://ec.europa.eu/food/international/organisations/codex_en.print.htm
    FDA Foods: http://www.fda.gov/Food/default.htm

    And the FDA states on their website: Protecting and promoting YOUR health. – pfffff

    Congratulations once again, and keep up the good work!

  32. My daughter has been struggling with asthma on and off since she was born. As a working mom I found it very easy and convenient to just pop one of those mac n cheese singles in the microwave (I know sinner!). In the past every now and then I was tying to use more of the organic veggie noodles and melt my own cheese on top, now it is what I will do for sure! Any other healthy food suggestions for a picky 2 year old? Thanks for this info, I had no idea!

    1. Amy, don’t be so hard on yourself! Just make improvements when you can. Baby steps… You can do it! If you are not already following 100daysofrealfood.com, she has great recipes geared towards young children.

  33. I have a suggestion.
    If Kraft will not respond to almost 300,000 peoples signatures, then maybe you should redirect those signatures to the chain restaurants instead ? Go to all of the chains that serve the stuff and hit them with the signatures ? If the chains start putting pressure on krafty too, then that might add some weight. See if you can get iHop and Denny’s and the others to officially endorse the petition, and then back it up with them potentially dropping the Kraft product…. ouch !

    If all Kraft is concerned about is the bottom line, then lets give them and education in supply and demand. If the restaurants request the change or stop supplying the product, that might assist in getting Krafts attention. If you get them to drop Kraft and switch to a healthy mac and cheese, that could really hurt that so important bottom line.

    Maybe the petition should read something like :
    Dear (Restaurant Chan) Almost 300,000 people so far, in the USA have signed a petition to tell Kraft they do not want these artificial ingredients in their Mac and Cheese. Kraft has ignored them. We are asking you to do the respectful thing and honor the request of those people to stop serving this product in your menu. Other company’s Mac and Cheese are available and will serve your customers with a more healthy meal option for young growing bodies.

  34. Thank-you all for going after Kraft, one of the many, corrupt food corporations!
    Artificial colorings are only one of the toxic substances Kraft uses- How about the pasta itself? Totally GMO! Maybe take an extra minute and actually “make” your mac-and-cheese from REAL ingredients. You can even purée carrots and onions to add to the cheese for more nutrition. It’s easy to make your own- even make extra and freeze it for later. Most boxed foods, coloring or not, are so processed that they aren’t real foods at all. The best way to control what you or your kids eat is to make it yourself.
    Having said that, we need to push for healthy, accessible food for everyone- not just the wealthy who have easy access to to stores that sell it! Keep up the good work!

  35. I try very hard to eliminate artificial food dyes. But sometimes, I have to eat what is put in front of me. For my birthday, I received Easy Mac from Kraft. I was skeptical on it, but I ate it because it was given to me and the person had a good motive behind why she gave it to me and I know she didn’t know I’m not into fake food dyes. As I ate each pack on different days, I got headaches and just did not feel good all over. My boyfriend’s mom offered me peanut m&ms a few weeks after and not wanting to say no because I wanted to be nice, I tried a few. I realized that that was also a big mistake because I had the same symptoms again… and it was RIGHT after I ate them. It did not take long for the m&ms or the mac n cheese to begin bothering me. Also, being a college student, I am limited on what I can buy and what I can eat sometimes. So, I try my best to stay away from dyes, but it doesn’t always happen… especially when I do not know what is in the food that it served in our cafeteria.

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