Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has launched an investigation into food company WK Kellogg Co. for potentially violating the state's consumer protection laws. Paxton alleged that the company’s cereals such as Apple Jacks, Froot Loops, Rice Krispies, and Frosted Flakes are advertised as "healthy” and claimed such products contain artificial food colorings that are linked to health issues.
“A critical part of fighting for our children’s future is putting an end to companies’ deceptive practices that are aimed at misleading parents and families about the health of food products,” the Texas attorney general said in a statement. “Artificial food colorings have been shown to have disastrous impacts on health, and in no world should foods that include these dyes be advertised as ‘healthy.’ There will be accountability for any company, including Kellogg’s, that unlawfully makes misrepresentations about its food and contributes to a broken health system that has made Americans less healthy.”
Paxton warned that companies found to be unlawfully misrepresenting their food products will be held accountable.
Kellogg's previously announced plans to remove artificial dyes and the preservative BHT from its products, but so far, these changes have only been implemented in Canada and Europe, not in the United States, KVUE reports.
Kellogg’s has yet to issue a statement in respond to Paxton’s investigation.
Paxton's probe into Kellogg's coincides with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s rollout of the "Make America Healthy Again" initiative. Kennedy, a steadfast critic of processed foods for decades, has vowed to transform the U.S. food system to improve Americans' well-being in the face of escalating obesity rates and chronic diseases.
Despite the FDA's stance that approved artificial food dyes are safe when used in compliance with regulations, Kennedy has specifically criticized several Kellogg’s cereals for their use of these dyes.
“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.”
In the United States, Froot Loops contain a mix of artificial colorings, including Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5, Yellow Dye No. 6, and Blue Dye No. 1., according to ABC News.
Last year, a crowd of hundreds assembled outside WK Kellogg's Michigan headquarters, urging the company to fulfill its commitment to eliminate artificial dyes from its U.S. cereals.
"I'm here for the moms, all the moms, who struggle to feed their children healthy food without added chemicals," Food activist Vani Hari said at the time.
