The bigger menace in the great Froot Loop scare

Consumers should worry more about sugar in food even if food coloring and artificial flavoring are in the spotlight.

- F.D. Flam

Are there "toxic chemicals" in food killing Americans? That fear is getting lots of attention thanks to Mr. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services.

Mr. Kennedy contends that substances banned in Europe are tainting American cereals and other processed foods. He has targeted Froot Loops as an example of the failings of the US food regulation system. The US version of the cereal, for example, gets its flavoring and vibrant colors from artificial food dyes. In contrast, the Canadian version's flavors and muted colors come from ingredients like the concentrated juices of watermelon, blueberries, and carrots.

But that does not mean the dyes used in US food are toxic or killing anyone. Other countries take a more cautious approach to food additives, sometimes banning them because they cannot be proven safe beyond a shadow of a doubt.

The European Union recently banned titanium dioxide, a coloring agent, from food products, though it is considered safe in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and the US. A toxicologist who has done testing for the industry told me the chemical did not cause cancer in rats which were fed massive amounts of it. Concerns surfaced after a 1986 study in which the animals were made to inhale the additive at a concentration of 250 milligrams per cubic meter.