Jello-o, Lucky Charms and Gatorade are banned in Europe over the use of harmful chemicals as ingredients.

A social media post claiming that Jell-o, Lucky Charms and Gatorade which are allowed to be consumed in America are actually banned in European nations. Jello-o and Lucky Charms contain artificial dyes and colours while Gatorade uses brominated vegetable oil which leads to various serious health issues upon consuming. 

However, Fact Crescendo found the claim to be misleading. Jello-o, Lucky Charms and Gatorade are not banned in the European nations but the ingredients used in these consumable products are limited to certain values. 

What’s the claim? 

A social media user wrote, “Did you know these American products are made with ingredients banned or restricted in Europe? White bread made with potassium bromate is a potential carcinogenic. Jell-O has artificial dyes like Red 40 which is linked with behavioral concerns. Lucky Charms is using artificial colors that comes with warning labels and Gatorade uses brominated vegetable oil which is banned overseas for health concerns.”

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Fact Check- 

Jello-O

According to the claim, Jello-O contain artificial dyes like Red 40. First, we found out about the ingredients of Jell-O. Sugar, gelatine, adipic acid, contains less than 2% of sodium citrate, disodium phosphate, fumaric acid, natural and artificial flavours, yellow 6, red 40 are the ingredients in the product. 

What is Red 40 and Yellow 6? Are they approved in Europe?

Red 40 is a synthetic dye that’s used in a variety of foods. The full name of this dye is FD and C red no. 40. It’s considered a color additive. Red no. 40 consists of a chemical compound called Allura red AC.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reviewed the safety of Allura Red AC (E 129), a food colouring allowed in the EU, and confirmed it is safe within the established acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 0-7 mg/kg body weight. While a recent study suggested it might cause DNA damage in mice at high doses, long-term studies showed no evidence of cancer, even at doses far exceeding typical human consumption. Other genetic tests and studies on its breakdown products also indicated no significant harm. EFSA concluded that the observed DNA effects are unlikely to lead to cancer, reaffirming Allura Red AC’s safety when used as a food additive.

Yellow 6, also known as Sunset Yellow, is an orange-yellow dye that is used in candy, sauces, baked goods and preserved fruits. 

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has set a new Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of 4 mg per kg of body weight per day for the food colouring Sunset Yellow. Previously, in 2009, EFSA had set a temporary ADI of 1 mg/kg due to limited data and recommended further studies. With new scientific data now available, EFSA has increased the ADI, confirming Sunset Yellow’s safety at the new updated level.

From the above facts, it is clear that food colour additives like Red 40 and Yellow 6 in Jell-O are approved by EFSA. The product is not banned in the European Nations. 

Lucky Charm

According to the Lucky Charm website, it uses Red 40, Yellow 5 & 6, Blue 1 along with other ingredients in the product. We have already discussed Red 40 and Yellow 6 earlier.

Yellow 5: The EFSA reviewed the safety of Yellow 5, also known as Tartrazine is a yellow food dye used in many products. Older studies showed that only a tiny amount of Tartrazine is absorbed by the body, while most of it is broken down by gut bacteria and leaves the body in urine. An acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 7.5 mg per kg of body weight was set many years ago, but the studies used were not detailed enough or focused on mixtures of dyes instead of just Tartrazine. Because of this, EFSA advised for more research to fully understand if Tartrazine is safe and if the ADI needs to be updated.

Blue 1: The EFSA reviewed the safety of Blue 1, also known as Brilliant Blue FCF (E 133). It was previously approved with an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 10 mg/kg body weight per day, set in 1984. After reviewing new data on how the dye is absorbed, processed, and its effects on health, the EFSA decided to lower the ADI to 6 mg/kg body weight per day. This decision was based on updated studies showing the dye is safe at this level. The EFSA also found that most people’s intake is below this new ADI

Although Lucky Charms has not been completely banned in European nations, and EFSA has approved the use of certain artificial dyes in the product, a few countries have independently decided to stop its marketing.

Below you can see the list of EFSA approved food additives.

Apart from this, we found that all the additives mentioned in the post are listed under approved additives by the UK government which you can see here. 

Gatorade: 

First, we found out whether Gatorade contains Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO). We found that the drink contains water, sugar, dextrose, citric acid, salt, sodium citrate monopotassium phosphate, gum arabic, natural and artificial flavour, glycerol ester of rosin, yellow 5, blue 1. The use of BVO is not mentioned in the product package. 

Gatorade is a product of PepsiCo. Previously, Fact Crescendo had debunked a post claiming that Mountain Dew, another product of PepsiCo, was banned because of the presence of BVO. We found that PepsiCo had declared to stop using Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO) in 2014. You can read the Fact Check here. 

Conclusion: 

Fact Crescendo found the claim to be misleading. Jell-O, Lucky Charm and Gatorade are not banned in Europe because of the presence of artificial dyes, colours and BVO. All the additives used in these products are approved by EFSA if the amount of the additives are under Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) value.