Petitioners to M&Ms: Ditch Those Artificial Dyes

Just in time for Halloween: a Change.org petition calling for M&Ms to get rid of its artificial dyes—especially the yellow and red ones—in favor of natural coloring, reports the International Business Times. The group behind the petition, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says the dyes have been linked to hyperactivity in kids and thus aren't worth the risk. It hasn't been able to get the FDA on board, however, so it's now going after companies one by one; M&Ms maker Mars Inc. is first.

Kellogg's and General Mills, which use the dyes in a wide range of foods, are next. So is this cause for Halloween worry? A Syracuse.com story about the petition wraps up with a quote from a pediatrician with four kids of his own: "The best thing to do is use common sense. Eating M&Ms occasionally as a treat is fine. Eating a pound a day is not." (More M&Ms stories.)