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Kellogg’s: Stop Targeting Little Kids With Artificial Ingredients!

Hi, this is Vani Hari, creator of foodbabe.com.

In 2015, Kellogg’s announced plans to remove artificial colors and artificial flavors from their cereals by the end of 2018.

It's now 2024 and Kellogg’s still sells several cereals with artificial colors and flavors in America, all of which target young children.

Even worse, Kellogg’s continues launching NEW cereals for children filled with artificial ingredients, such as Minecraft Frosted Flakes and Disney's Little Mermaid Cereal.

I am petitioning Kellogg’s to remove all artificial colors, artificial flavors and BHT from all of their cereals. I urge you to join me by signing this petition now!

These ingredients do not belong in our food - especially for children.

Artificial Colors - Baby Shark

ARTIFICIAL COLORS: Derived from petroleum, may cause hyperactivity in children & can disrupt the immune system. Requires a warning label Europe.

ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS: Chemical mixture made from synthetic ingredients such as crude oil or coal tar. Much cheaper than using real food.

BUTYLATED HYDROXYTOLUENE (BHT): Risky preservative linked to cancer in some animal studies as an endocrine disruptor that interferes with hormones.

I’m not asking Kellogg’s to start at square one and to reformulate their cereals without these ingredients, as this has already been done!

All of Kellogg’s cereals are free from artificial colors and BHT in Europe and Australia. Kellogg’s has specifically sold Froot Loops and Unicorn Cereal in other countries without artificial colors or BHT, so they already have the formula. We deserve the same, safer cereals that other countries get.

Froot Loops in AustraliaRainbow Krispies

Why should American children needlessly consume these controversial chemicals if Kellogg’s has already figured out how to make their cereals without it?

Kellogg's Timeline

To sign this petition, use the form at the top right of the page.

Dear Gary Pilnick, Chairman & CEO of WK Kellogg Company:

In 2015, Kellogg’s announced plans to remove artificial colors and artificial flavors from their U.S. cereals by the end of 2018. This was widely reported in the media.

It is now 2024, and Kellogg’s still sells several cereals with artificial colors such as Froot Loops and Apple Jacks. In addition, Kellogg’s has launched new cereals made with artificial colors and/or artificial flavors (such as Peeps, ICEE, Elf on the Shelf, and Wendy's Frosty). These cereals are directly targeted towards young children and toddlers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a policy statement in 2018 warning that some chemicals found in food colorings, preservatives, and packaging materials may harm children’s health and best be avoided. Artificial colors have been banned in countries like Norway and Austria and the UK has imposed a voluntary ban. They may be contaminated with carcinogens and cause an increase in hyperactivity in children. Artificial colors add absolutely no nutritional value and are used solely for aesthetic purposes.

There are risks that come with artificial flavors as well. A governmental agency does not approve the safety of artificial flavors. Instead, a flavor industry trade group, the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA), has assembled their own panel of scientists who review and approve new flavors as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). These scientists are paid by FEMA (who ultimately get their funding from flavor companies). Public advocacy groups have questioned FEMA’s processes and called on the FDA to ban certain flavor substances that have known links to cancer, but little has been done. In 2019 the FDA banned seven ingredients used to make artificial flavors that have been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals. Any food company using artificial flavors has been given 2 years to remove them from their flavors, so they are still on store shelves.

Your children’s cereals are preserved with Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT). BHT is linked to cancer in some animal studies and is an endocrine disruptor that interferes with hormones. Although the FDA has granted it GRAS, BHT simply hasn’t been proven safe and researchers agree that more studies need to be conducted. The approval of BHT as a food additive has been called one of the worst failures of our regulatory system by the respected Environmental Working Group, who classifies it as one of the top “Dirty Dozen” food additives to avoid.

Kellogg’s sells some of the same cereals (Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops) in other countries with safer ingredients. In Europe and Australia for instance, Kellogg’s takes artificial colors and the risky preservative BHT out of their cereals completely. We deserve the same, safer cereals that other countries get.

These unnecessary and potentially harmful ingredients are not in Kellogg's cereals sold overseas – so they shouldn’t be in ours. The simple fact that you don’t use these ingredients elsewhere is proof that they are not needed.

I urge you to remove Artificial Colors, Artificial Flavors, and BHT from all of your cereals here in North America and worldwide.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

For the latest news and media requests, please go to foodbabe.com. To sign this petition, please use the form at the top right of this page.

Thanks!

Sources:

  1. https://www.bakeryandsnacks.com/Article/2015/08/05/Kellogg-removes-artificial-ingredients-by-2018-Q2-results
  2. https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/AAP-Says-Some-Common-Food-Additives-May-Pose-Health-Risks-to-Children.aspx
  3. http://www.npr.org/2011/03/30/134962888/fda-probes-link-between-food-dyes-kids-behavior
  4. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-44042813/fda-hears-from-critics-on-artificial-food-dyes-next-step-ignore-them/
  5. https://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/foodsafety/additives.html
  6. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7725316.stm
  7. http://www.cspinet.org/new/201006291.html
  8. http://www.cspinet.org/new/200806022.html
  9. http://cspinet.org/new/201405071.html
  10. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1541-4337.12121/full
  11. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2702725
  12. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3949264
  13. http://endocrinedisruption.org/popup-chemical-details?chemid=907
  14. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14981123
  15. http://www.ewg.org/foodscores/ingredients/7397-ButylatedHydroxytolueneBHT
  16. https://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm#bht
  17. http://www.efsa.europa.eu/fr/search/doc/2588.pdf
  18. http://www.ewg.org/foodscores/content/natural-vs-artificial-flavors#.WvTAAdPwaRt
  19. https://www.femaflavor.org/about
  20. http://time.com/3913232/natural-flavoring-government/
  21. https://cspinet.org/sites/default/files/attachment/food-additive-petition-2015.pdf
  22. https://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ConstituentUpdates/ucm622475.htm