UAE actively monitoring coloured food items after US bans red dye used in candies, cakes
Authorities from the UAE declared on Thursday that their nation is increasing food safety scrutiny through active product monitoring with special attention to colour additives.
The United States established a new ban on Wednesday for a synthetic food dye that colors candies and snacks red after tests revealed it induced cancer in lab rats.
The Food and Drug Administration has now prohibited Red No. 3 dye in food products after banning it from cosmetics over thirty years ago. Almost 3,000 food products in the US contain this dye.
The UAE mandates rigorous inspections for food imports at entry locations through collaboration with local authorities. Regular sampling and testing of food products occurs to verify their safety for consumer use.
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment has introduced protective measures to maintain the safety of food products along with their additives and colourants. Authorities keep technical specifications and regulations up-to-date through scientific methods to protect consumer health and safety.
The UAE authorities have established specific acceptable limits for food colourant additives to protect consumer health from possible risks. The permissible limits are established by reviewing risk assessments along with international references and standardized global benchmarks.
The US regulators established a two-year deadline for food companies but extended the deadline to three years for pharmaceutical companies to reformulate their products according to new regulatory decisions.
The FDA assessed carcinogenicity but additional studies have shown that synthetic food dyes can lead to neurobehavioural effects in children such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Research with animals showed that synthetic food dyes led to alterations in brain neurotransmitter systems and induced small structural brain changes which impacted activity levels as well as memory and learning abilities.
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