Israeli lab discovers alarming amount of ‘Sunset Yellow’ in US-produced M&Ms

 

The manufacturing process for European M&Ms leave the product at acceptable levels because they use natural food dyes.

Now, a Class-action lawsuit was filed against American manufacturer & the Israeli importer of the US-made chocolates.

By i24NEWS

 

 

US-produced M&M chocolate candy, which is imported to and sold in Israel, was found to contain artificial food coloring at levels far exceeding limits set by Israel’s health ministry, a report by Israeli Channel 2 revealed on Thursday.

A 46 foot piñata in the form of an orange M&M candy, filled with thousands. Aug. 4, 2011 ( Sam Yeh/AFP )

A 46 foot piñata in the form of an orange M&M candy, filled with thousands. Aug. 4, 2011 – Photo: Sam Yeh/AFP

The food coloring used in the production of the famous chocolate lentils, more specifically the color “Sunset Yellow” used to make the orange M&Ms, contains a petroleum-based dye, which, if present in elevated levels, can increase hyperactivity in children, Dr Ilana Dariel, a clinical dietician, told Channel 2.

Two separately carried out laboratory tests found that the concentration present in the orange candies exceeded the permitted limit by up to four times. Candies of different colors showed no indication of raised levels, the report said.

Up until 2008, Sides, the official Israeli importer of M&Ms, bought the candy from Europe, where manufacturing processes use natural food dyes. When the company decided to switch to the US-manufactured candy, it filed a request with the Israeli Ministry of Health to approve a threefold increase of the substance in question, which the ministry granted.

Following the findings, a class-action suit was filed in Israel against Mars Inc., the manufacturer of M&M, as well as Sides.

Both Mars and Sides told Channel 2 that all M&Ms entering Israel meet the health ministry’s standards, and that the companies place the utmost importance on meeting the highest standards of quality and safety.

The health ministry noted that M&Ms overall meet regulations and that since most of the colors are far under the limit, the product as a whole can pass its test, even if the orange M&Ms by themselves might not.

 

View original i24NEWS publication at: http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/society/140214-israeli-lab-finds-alarming-food-dye-level-in-m-ms