by Amy Goodrich
Kraft’s mac and cheese may be a convenient, easy, and cheap dinner alternative, but if you are feeding your family this simple and quick dinner, you may be slowly poisoning them.
Only recently, Kraft had to recall over 6 million boxes of their macaroni and cheese sold in the United States, Puerto Rico, and some Caribbean and South American countries (Canada was not in the danger zone).
The recall was due to a metal contamination.
According to Kraft, eight consumer complaints have been logged about the product, but there have been no reported injuries.
“We deeply regret this situation and apologize to any consumers we have disappointed,” Kraft said in a statement
This is not the first time Kraft had to recall one of their products for safety reasons. In August 2014, over 7,000 cases of American Singles “cheese product” slices were recalled after improper storage of one of the ingredients.
And in September 2011, over 135,000 cases of single-serve Velveeta Shells & Cheese were recalled due to wire bristle pieces in some of the packages.
Carcinogenic petroleum-derived food dyes
If you think that, with recalling these boxes, all is settled again and you could go back to feeding your family these convenient foods, think again.
Metal shards are not the only reason to avoid these overly processed convenient foods. Kraft’s mac and cheese, among many other processed products on today’s market, contain Yellow 5 and 6 food dyes.
These substances are banned or strictly regulated in the UK and most other European countries, but still freely and extensively used in the US.
Yellow 5 is a synthetic lemon-yellow food color also known as tartrazine or E102. Yellow 6, another synthetic yellow dye, goes under the name Sunset Yellow FCF, or E110.
They are often added to processed foods to make them look more appealing and tastier so consumers are tricked into buying these products.
Both are derived from petroleum and pose a wide range of health issues. They contain cancer-causing benzidine and other potentially carcinogenic chemicals which can damage DNA and cause severe damage to our cells.
It can halt cell reproduction and may lead to cancer. Artificial colors have been linked to hyperactivity and decreased concentration in children, cancer, and allergic reactions (such as asthma).
What science tells us
According to a 2012 study on the toxicology of food dyes:
“The inadequacy of much of the testing and the evidence for carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, and hypersensitivity, coupled with the fact that dyes do not improve the safety or nutritional quality of foods, indicates that all of the currently used dyes should be removed from the food supply and replaced, if at all, by safer colorings.”
The limited number of studies in the health and food industry looking at the potential dangers and toxicity of these food dyes is the perfect excuse to keep on using them.
Food companies deliberately do not perform any of these safety tests and then brush away all the concerns as not having enough evidence to prove the harmful side effects.
Don’t put your family and yourself at risk; get rid of these overly processed convenient foods, such Kraft’s mac and cheese. Opt for whole, fresh, organic foods and home-cooked meals instead.
References: Washington Post; Natural News; UK Food Guide; CSPI Net; NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov;
