Food is the second most important thing humans need to survive. Everyone knows that food is fuel to the body. Some foods are better for you than others, it’s just a fact. An apple is healthier than a cookie. When we buy packaged foods there is a little box on the back that reads you all the nutrition facts and ingredients. Normally as a kid I would read the back of the cereal box for something to stimulate my brain as I ate. I realized that I can’t pronounce half the things in my lucky charms cereal. Red No. 40? mixed tocopherols? Trisodium Phosphate? “What does that even mean?”

Freshman Kole Ivancic said” I can usually pronounce most of the things in the ingredients but it’s concerning when I look up said ingredients and it’s used in glue, paint, or cleaning products.”

A lot of what we eat are chemicals, dyes, and mixes of powders. Recently Red No. 3 is getting a recall and ban because it’s been known to be carcinogenic. Carcinogenic means cancer causing. This should raise alarms for everyone, you’re basically feeding your body small doses of cancer. Since we have evolved over time to be able to tolerate these types of chemicals, it doesn’t harm us as much. Some powders are fine, like cornstarch, flour, all the normal stuff. Others are not so much, such as preservatives. Preservatives are used to preserve your food so they last longer. Salt has always been a food preserver, and is safe to eat in small quantities.

Junior Caylee Stevens said,”Red Dye No. 3 is super dangerous and it’s proven by the FDA to be cancerous but companies still continue to put it in CHILDREN’S food. Where are their morals?”

Since Red No. 3 is getting a recall that means by 2024 all companies who use this carcinogen need to take their products off the shelf or change their recipe. This includes but is not limited to: Peeps, Hostess Ding Dongs, Betty Crocker, Fruit by the Foot, Dubble Bubble chewing gum, Entenmann’s Little Bites, Vigo Saffron Yellow Rice, PediaSure Grow & Gain Kids’ Ready-to-Drink strawberry shake, Dole Fruit Packs, Brach’s Candy Corn, Jelly Belly candy, Trolli Sour Crunchy Crawlers, Archer Farms Hand Decorated Sugar Cookies, Betty Crocker Loaded Potato Casserole, Blue Bunny Chocolate Donut Ice Cream, Brach’s Star Brites, Dippin’ Dots Cotton Candy, Duncan Hines Deliciously Moist Cake Mix, Yoo-hoo Strawberry Drink, Necco Wafers, Pop Tarts Frosted Confetti Cake Bites.

The list may seem long and that is because it is. And many are concerning including the PediaSure Grow & Gain Kids’ Ready-to-Drink strawberry shake that is supposed to be for children under the age of four. Feeding developing children food dyes that are unsafe for consumption is concerning.

Junior Daksh Bagga said, “It is quite concerning to see a substance so harmful in children’s snacks and drinks. This substance should not be allowed in these types of things, and if it is, it should be clearly marked.”