On July 23 of 2018, the American Association of Pediatrics published two papers on food additives, one on policy and one technical as follows:

Policy:
Trasande L, Shaffer RM, Sathyanarayana S; AAP COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. Food Additives and Child Health. Pediatrics. 2018;142(2):e20181408 -- available at doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-1408

Technical:
Trasande L, Shaffer RM, Sathyanarayana S, AAP COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. Food Additives and Child Health. Pediatrics. 2018;142(2):e20181410 -- available at doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-1410

The statements about FD&C colorings are:

    "Nine AFCs currently are approved for use in the United States: Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 3, Red 40, Citrus Red 2, and Orange B. FDA data indicate that the use of AFCs increased more than fivefold between 1950 and 2012, from 12 to 68 mg per capita per day.130

    Over the last several decades, studies have raised concerns regarding the effect of AFCs on child behavior and their role in exacerbating attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms.131-136 Elimination of AFCs from the diet may provide benefits to children with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.131,137-139 Although the mechanisms of action have not yet been fully elucidated, at least one AFC, Blue 1, may cross the blood-brain barrier.135,140 Overall, however, further work is needed to better understand the implications of AFC exposure and resolve the uncertainties across the scientific evidence."


130. Stevens LJ, Burgess JR, Stochelski MA, Kuczek T. Amounts of artificial food colors in commonly consumed beverages and potential behavioral implications for consumption in children. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2014;53(2):133-140

131. Nigg JT, Lewis K, Edinger T, Falk M. Meta-analysis of attention-de cit/ hyperactivity disorder or attention- de cit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, restriction diet, and synthetic food color additives. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2012;51(1):86-97.e8

132. Stevens LJ, Kuczek T, Burgess JR, Stochelski MA, Arnold LE, Galland L. Mechanisms of behavioral, atopic, and other reactions to artificial food colors in children. Nutr Rev. 2013;71(5):268-281

133. Millichap JG, Yee MM. The diet factor in attention-de cit/hyperactivity disorder. Pediatrics. 2012;129(2):330-337

134. Weiss B. Synthetic food colors and neurobehavioral hazards: the view from environmental health research. Environ Health Perspect. 2012;120(1):1-5

135. Arnold LE, Lofthouse N, Hurt E. Artificial food colors and attention-de cit/ hyperactivity symptoms: conclusions to dye for. Neurotherapeutics. 2012;9(3):599-609

136. Kleinman RE, Brown RT, Cutter GR, Dupaul GJ, Clydesdale FM. A research model for investigating the effects of artificial food colorings on children with ADHD. Pediatrics. 2011;127(6):e1575-e1584

137. Nigg JT, Holton K. Restriction and elimination diets in ADHD treatment. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2014;23(4):937-953

138. Arnold LE, Hurt E, Lofthouse N. Attention-de cit/hyperactivity disorder: dietary and nutritional treatments. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2013;22(3):381-402, v

139. Stevenson J, Buitelaar J, Cortese S, et al. Research review: the role of diet in the treatment of attention- de cit/hyperactivity disorder--an appraisal of the evidence on ef cacy and recommendations on the design of future studies. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2014;55(5):416-427

140. US Food and Drug Administration. Food advisory committee meeting. March 30-31, 2011. Available at: https:// wayback.archive-it.org/org-1137/ 20170406211705/https://www.fda. gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittee s/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/ FoodAdvisoryCommittee/UCM255119. pdf. Accessed May 18, 2017