RFK Jr. claims Canadian Froot Loops have 3 ingredients. They have 17.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. questioned vaccine safety, fluoride in water and other health matters as he campaigned alongside President-elect Donald Trump, vowing to "Make America Healthy Again." Another thing now in Kennedy's sights: a bright, O-ringed cereal that has filled children's breakfast bowls for generations.

Kennedy, who is fiercely critical of the federal government's handling of child health, including rising childhood obesity rates, has wrongly claimed that Froot Loops sold in Canada have just a few ingredients, compared with those sold in the United States.

Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.

"Why do we have Froot Loops in this country that have 18 or 19 ingredients, and you go to Canada and it's got two or three?" he said in an interview with MSNBC's Vaughn Hillyard last week while criticizing the Food and Drug Administration.

Kennedy, known for his debunked medical claims, was wrong about the numbers of ingredients in Canadian and American Froot Loops, which are similar: 17 and 16, respectively. The biggest difference is the dyes, which in the American version are known as Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Blue 1. Canadian authorities limit the use of those dyes.

After this published, Stefanie Spear, a spokeswoman for Kennedy, said he was referring in his MSNBC interview to the differences in food dyes in the American and Canadian versions of the cereal.

"We can all unify behind the goal of making American food the healthiest and most nutritious in the world," Spear said in a statement.

Carol Culhane, whose Toronto-based company, International Food Focus Limited, advises manufacturers on how to comply with regulations, confirmed that Canadian health authorities limit the use of food dyes, such as the four in the American version of Froot Loops. She said American-made foods are typically much brighter than those in the Great White North.

Last month, Culhane said, Canadian health officials surveyed the use of food coloring and found no health hazards. On Friday, the Canadian government announced plans to further codify the acceptable levels of food dyes and other additives.

"They've been looking at this for a good 14, 15 years, so it's not something that's a result of social media pressure," Culhane said.

Kennedy's comparison of the cereals is part of his larger "Make America Healthy Again" campaign, which is perplexing and worrying health leaders as he prepares for a potential role in the government.

Weeks ago, Kennedy falsely told conservative podcaster Steve Gruber that food dyes cause tumors and behavioral issues in children.

"If you look at a pack of Froot Loops in this country, it's all chemical dyes. Yellow, blue, red dye, which are poison," Kennedy said. "In Canada, across the border, Froot Loops are a different color; they're all colored by vegetable oils. It's the same company. Kellogg's knows how to create safer products that don't have chemicals in them."

The FDA website says approved artificial food dyes are safe: "The totality of scientific evidence indicates that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives, but some evidence suggests that certain children may be sensitive to them."

Many countries, including in Europe, do not ban those artificial dyes but require that companies alert customers to their presence by affixing labels to their products.

"That seems to be enough to discourage their use," said Marion Nestle, former chair of New York University's nutrition and food studies program.

The Canadian version of Froot Loops uses natural coloring: red from annatto, which comes from achiote seeds; yellow-orange from turmeric; blue from concentrated juice of the huito tree, which grows in the tropics.

The artificial dyes used in the American version give the cereal a neon sheen, which manufacturer Kellogg's says its U.S. customers prefer. "Consumer preferences regarding colors from artificial sources in food differ widely across markets, especially for cereals," Kellogg's said in an unsigned statement from its public information department. "For example, there is better reception to our cereal recipes that utilize natural-color alternatives within the Canadian market, than in the U.S."

Nestle said Kellogg's and other cereal producers too often blame the customer when regulations require different versions for other markets.

"Their highest priority is profit to stockholders," she said.

It's hard to tell exactly what artificial dyes do to the human body because even eating a whole bowl of cereal means children will spoon up just micrograms of the dyes, making quality research impossible, according to Nestle.

"There's no reason why those colors have to be there," she said. "They're cosmetic, they're lipstick. They're there to make things that don't taste very good seem to taste good."

Many studies, she said, show a potential link between the consumption of food dyes and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children.

So why don't cereal makers use natural coloring in all of their products? Nestle said studies show that people think the cereal doesn't taste as good without the bright colors.

About a decade ago, cereal giant General Mills spent two years listening to consumers who said they wanted natural colors in Trix, despite the cereal appearing more pale, Nestle said.

"They looked like fall leaf colors," she said. "I thought they were beautiful; those were vegetable dyes, but I'm not a 4-year-old."

The company's technology director said sales of the less-bright Trix had "exceeded expectations," according to Food Business News. But people were used to the unnatural colors, and General Mills was besieged by complaints. So, in 2017, General Mills switched back to the artificial stuff.

Other companies have tried to go natural over the years. Candy producer Mars said in 2016 that it would stop using artificial dyes in its confections, which include M&M's and Skittles, within five years. But five years later, the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest criticized Mars for continuing to use the dyes. Mars posted on its website that "since that time, a cross-functional Mars team" found "consumer expectations regarding colors in food differ widely across markets and categories," and thus the company would reevaluate its promise.

Some breakfast cereals and other processed foods have faced backlash in the United States over artificial colorings. Last month, activists protested outside the Michigan headquarters of WK Kellogg Co. to demand that the company remove artificial dyes from its U.S. breakfast cereals.

Nestle said the FDA is too cozy with cereal companies to properly regulate the multibillion-dollar businesses. She said Trump has shown no interest in regulating the food industry, but she would welcome Kennedy's attempt to regulate corporate food producers.

"Whether the guy is a complete crackpot or can deliver on this, I have no idea," she said.

Related Content

Trump allies push to punish Jack Smith in first test of retribution vow

Beatles versus Beyoncé? The Grammys are talking nonsense again.