Harris, Gardiner. "“F.D.A. Panel to Consider Warnings for Artificial Food Colorings”." New York Times. 29 Mar. 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2011.
“F.D.A. Panel to Consider Warnings for Artificial Food Colorings” is an article about the safety of artificial food colorings. Although approved by the FDA for sometime, artificial colorings are being reassessed by the federal government, and they are discussing whether foods containing such dies should have warning labels. This reassessment is a result of observations suggesting artificial colorings are linked to behavior problems in children, such as hyperactivity. While many typical children are unaffected, kids with behavioral disorders might experience heightened symptoms. While some say they have observed the effects of artificial colorings firsthand, others argue that it is all just an urban legend. Some consumer advocacy groups have argued that the dyes be removed from the food supply completely. Changes to artificial food dyes have been taking place for over a century as dyes discovered to be toxic and carcinogenic have been replaced with “safe” ones. The F.D.A. has suggested that these problems in children could result from an allergy or a “unique intolerance to these substances and not to any inherent neurotoxic properties.”
This information is very important in today’s society. Especially in America, foods containing artificial coloring are everywhere and are being consumed more and more. The sooner a decision can be made about whether or not these dyes are actually harmful, the sooner something can be done about it. Depending on what happens with these studies, the foods we see on the shelves of store could change dramatically.
This article clearly explained the concern with artificial colorings and why they are being reassessed. Although the article addresses that research on pediatric behaviors are difficult to construct, but it would have been helpful if it included some information about some of the studies that have been done to put things into context.
I thought Ally’s review was very good because it was written very concisely and thoroughly. More specifically though, I liked how Ally kept her review simple and understandable. By not mentioning complex chemical formulas and information about convoluted experiments, Ally kept the information very straightforward. It made the article much more relatable and much more enjoyable to read. Secondly, I really liked the way she included a quote. It’s always good to refer back to the main source when writing a review. It also makes the review seem much more substantial and reliable. Lastly, I liked how Ally didn’t sidetrack and talk about irrelevant information relating to her subject. She stayed very focused on the toxicity of food dyes, especially closing in on their effect on children.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to change anything, I would recommend perhaps adding a few numbers or statistics. Although Ally made good use of a quote, she could have pushed it a little bit more and included an even more specific statistic. In addition, Ally could have also talked about a specific experiment, making her review more detailed. She could have discussed a certain instance where food dye was proved to be dangerous. This would have made the review more memorable.
What I found intriguing about this article is how science can affect our everyday lives. It’s amazing how scientists can discover different problems with what we are consuming and relate it back to ailments that are present in society. It makes for an interesting case and I’m anxious to see more news regarding this issue.
First off, I enjoyed Ally's review and found it to be very interesting and informative. Ally did a great job of presenting the information in a very clear and concise manner. She was able to sum up all of the information from the article and create a logical summary and a review that was enjoyable to read. I think that her use of quotes was crucial to the success of her review and I beleive that she set them up correctly. Quotes often feel as if they were just thrown into a piece of writing but she did a nice job of incorporating them into her work. Finally, I think that it was very smart of her to include a short history of the food dye because that lets the reader know that this has been an ongoing problem and is something that we should keep an eye on.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to change anything about Ally's review, I would have liked to see a few more specific details, possibly some statistics about the food dye, it's side effects, or the study itself. Often times numerical values help accredate a scientific article. One other thing that I would suggest is that she include some more specifics about how and if this will effect us. She briefly mentioned that it makes children more hyperactive, but more detail in the section of her review talking about the impact of the article would have been helpful.
Until reading Ally's review, I was unaware that there were health concerns regarding food dye. I found this very interesting because my mom is a baker and we often use dye in the making of cakes. I definetly will be looking forward to followups from this article add maybe a more definite answer about the health risks of this product.
The review on “Panel to Consider Warnings for Artificial Food Colorings” was very well written. The overall article was written very simply, but thoroughly, which made it easy to understand. It explained the overall reasons for why food-coloring is being assessed by the FDA that even though food-coloring companies claim these dyes are safe, they could have different effects on children with certain disorders, which would lead to hyperactivity. The review was also well done because it gave the point of view of the consumers, who are the people affected by food-colorings. Some consumers believe that dyes should be removed from all foods together, where as others believe that this is just an ‘urban legend.’ This was very important to include in the review because many people are obviously very concerned about dye effects, so they are interested in the F.D.A.’s findings. Lastly, Ally’s review was also well written because it talked about the effects food coloring could possibly be having on children. Often reviews don’t relate their information to the reader, but this made the review much more enjoyable to read because I understood how this article related to me.
ReplyDeleteThis review could have been improved for a few reasons. Although talking about the specific chemicals that are considered toxic in food coloring could have made the review more complicated, it would have made it more interesting because I would have understood what chemicals have the F.D.A. concerned. Also, the review could have been made better by including a story about how a child was affected by food coloring. This would have made the effects of food coloring more imaginable and relatable to the reader.
This review impressed me because Ally chose an article that is so relatable to everyday life. Most people have eaten food with food coloring, but no one imagined that it could have a negative effect on them. I learned how everyday scientific findings can affect our everyday lives.
Ally overall did an excellent review of the article. I really enjoyed how concisely she summarized the article; it told me everything I needed to know without dragging it out. She did not overcomplicate anything; rather she made everything easy for someone not native to the subject very easy to understand. Her use of quotations from the article was also a valuable asset to her review. By intertwining it with her own idea, it bolsters the connection between Ally’s opinion and the substance in the article. Finally, I liked the connection to everyday life that Ally made. She discussed how food dyes are consumed by everyone and children could potentially suffer from them. It was nice for her to put the article in such a clear perspective.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been nice for Ally to do some outside research and find how many children this affects in the world. She could compare its affects to children of different age, races, or gender. It would be interesting to see the similarities that the scientists heading this conclusion are relying on. Finally, it would have been nice of her to say what possible side affects consuming food dye can have. That would help describe the severity of this issue.
I really enjoyed this article because it was about something that everyone is aware of and is available to anyone. So many people could be affected by food dye, and until now, I didn’t know that it was linked to any health problems. I may think twice the next time I want to add food coloring to icing!
I thought that Ally did a great job summarizing the article. She was clearly presented the information in the article without it being confusing or cluttered. She was very straightforward and concise. Secondly, I thought that Ally did a great job of providing background information about what the F.D.A. has done in the past. The new actions taken by the F.D.A. were more understandable because of this. Finally, I really liked how she gave her own opinion of the article in her summary. It allowed me to see what she thought about the article and the limitations the article put on her.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I thought this summary was very good, I would change a few minor things. For instance, I would have been interesting see the data from the studies that she mentioned about how the dye affects children with certain disorders. Also, I would have liked to know what the chemicals in food dye are that the F.D.A. is so concerned about. This would have been a great piece of supporting evidence.
I enjoyed reading Ally’s summary because it was something I could relate to. I knew that some people were hesitant about food dye, but I didn’t know that the F.D.A was reassessing the situation. I’m glad Ally was about to find this article because it is something that affects me everyday , and now I know much more about it than I did before.