In the 1990s I had an English friend whose small child suffered from petit mal - minor epileptic fits. Her doctor advised her to lay off any foods with colorings declared on the labels. The fits disappeared - until the family was posted to the U.S. when they returned with a vengeance, since many labels don't fully declare food content. Her pediatrician dismissed her questions about food colorings.

Now the Center for Science in the Public Interest is asking parents across the U.S. to report adverse reactions in their children to foods that contain dyes like Yellow 5 and Red 40. It wants to convince the Food and Drug Administration that synthetic dyes such as these have no place in foods, particularly foods targetted at children.

They're being phased out completely in Europe because of evidence that shows that dyes and possibly the preservative sodium benzoate cause hyperactivity and other behavior problems in children.

As far as hyperactivity is concerned, there is certainly very low dependence in Europe on Ritalin. Whether that's do to with a European aversion to drugging down disruptive children, or whether Europeans are simply averting their eyes to the problem -- or whether it's due to fewer dyes and preservatives in the processed foods -- well, perhaps the CSPI can explain that best to U.S. parents and schoolteachers. If you have a case to report, send it to http://www.cspinet.org/fooddyes.