As we soon head into the days without school, summer outings and get togethers can also be coupled with unkempt rooms and mentions of “I’m bored.” Instead of nagging, yelling or constantly reminding your kids of what to do, please know there are positive ways to keep everyone happy. This is why I am excited to once again offer to our readers the very popular and FREE parenting webinar led by Amy McCready with Positive Parenting Solutions. With three different sessions offered (morning and evening), you will not regret taking an hour to join us and learn how to use easy strategies to correct misbehavior and get your kids to listen. No one needs added stress or wants to constantly be nagging or yelling – especially during the summer months! So sign up below for a FREE 1-hour webinar led by parenting expert Amy McCready, founder of Positive Parenting Solutions and regular TODAY Show contributor, if you’d like to learn about getting your “kids to listen without nagging, reminding or yelling.”
Free Parenting Webinar for our Readers
“Get Kids to Listen Without Nagging, Reminding or Yelling” led by parenting expert Amy McCready
Join us to learn easy to implement strategies to correct misbehavior and reclaim the calm voice you had before kids. Discover proven tools for your most frustrating discipline dilemmas including the 5 R’s of Fair & Effective Consequences. Tactics can be used for toddlers to teens.
For the first time in the more than 2 weeks since we launched our petition asking Kraft to remove artificial dyes from their line of macaroni and cheese, Kraft has finally acknowledged our petition and the more than 270,000 consumers who have signed it. (Transcript of video below)
Our Video Response To Kraft’s Latest Letter
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Kraft’s Letter Posted on their Website (This was not sent to us directly)
Our Video Transcript:
Their response, posted on their website, states that 14 of their 45 or so varieties of macaroni and cheese do not contain artificial dyes and the ones that do contain dyes do not violate any FDA or European safety guidelines. However, they failed to mention that when these artificial dyes are used in Europe they require a warning label stating they “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” Continue Reading »
It’s been a little over one week since we started a petition to remove artificial food dyes from Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. We have over 228,000 signatures, and counting, and while we heard from Kraft right after the petition launched, it was not the response we were hoping for.
We thought it would be important to share their response and exact letter with you, so you can understand exactly what we are up against.
Below you’ll see Kraft’s letter to us along with our specific response and reaction in bold.
From Kraft: Hi Lisa and Vani,
Thanks for contacting us. The safety and quality of our products is our highest priority and we take consumer concerns very seriously. We carefully follow the laws and regulations in the countries where our products are sold. So in the U.S., we only use colors that are approved and deemed safe for food use by the Food and Drug Administration.
Our Response: When Kraft found out the safety of artificial food dyes was in question in Europe – why didn’t they make the “safety” of U.S. citizens their highest priority, too? Food is food – whether in our country or someone else’s – why not make all Kraft products standardized to the highest safety regulation across the board? Kraft was able to reformulate their products without artificial dyes in the U.K. without noticeably changing the color or taste – we even taste tested it ourselves just to prove this point. We know it can be done; Kraft doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel.
To further prove this point – Kraft stated this fact themselves by reformulating Lunchables in the UK without “compromising quality, taste and food safety.”
“Kraft Foods UK has no products aimed at children that contain the ingredients highlighted in the FSA [Southampton] study. . . . [W]ith our recent Lunchables reformulation in the UK, we reduced fat and salt, as well as removed artificial colours and flavours. Without compromising quality, taste and food safety, we will continue to see where we can make changes and still meet consumer expectations.”—Kraft Foods UK (Quote Taken from AllergyKids Foundation)
Because Kraft has not willingly and proactively reformulated their products in the US, it’s obvious to us that Kraft’s highest priority is their bottom line. We are asking Kraft, a multi-billion dollar company, to be the leader in the US Food Industry by voluntarily removing artificial dyes and owning up to the statements they make about safety and quality of their products. Continue Reading »
In a mere 36 hours our petition asking Kraft to remove artificial food dyes from their line of macaroni and cheese products has gone viral and now has more than 170,000 signatures. We are so taken aback by the instant and widespread media attention on this topic, which we think indicates how this much-needed change in our Food Industry has been imminent for some time. One of the big guys just needed a little push in the right direction, and we hope this is it. (Be sure to sign the petition if you haven’t already!).
We want to take a moment to share that this petition is honestly much bigger than just macaroni and cheese or even Kraft. There are many large US companies that use artificial dyes – as well as other additives – in their food products here that are not used overseas. Everyone from General Mills to Kellogg’s to Pepsi, and of course Kraft, have formulated safer, better versions of their products for other countries and this petition is a vehicle to let these companies know it’s time for American consumers to get the same.
Our petition in particular is focusing on an iconic food product like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese because we thought this would be the best place to start to generate public awareness. If Kraft, the largest US-based food company, takes the lead by voluntarily removing potentially harmful – yet unnecessary – artificial food dyes our hope is that the others will follow suit. Whether or not you buy or eat this product think of those who do (the average consumer assumes products on grocery store shelves are completely safe and seldom reads ingredient labels). The UK version, which we made and sampled ourselves, is dyed with natural colors (paprika and beta carotene) and looks and tastes almost exactly the same. This is not about taking away anyone’s beloved mac and cheese.
Here’s the Bottom Line
Artificial food dyes are derived from petroleum, they either require a warning label or have been phased out in other developed countries due to health concerns, and they add NO value to the foods they are in whatsoever. These dyes are purely for aesthetic reasons only. Check out my post sharing the 7 reasons I hate artificial dyes for more information. Continue Reading »
Hi there, this is Lisa Leake from 100DaysofRealFood.com and Vani Hari from FoodBabe.com. We recently discovered that several American food products contain harmful additives that are not used – and in some cases banned – in other countries. One of those products is an iconic staple that almost every American, us included, has had at one time or another: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.
In the US, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese contains the artificial food dyes Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. These unnecessary – yet potentially harmful - dyes are not in Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in other countries, including the UK, because they were removed due to consumer outcry. Kraft reformulated their product for the UK, but not for their fellow American citizens, and it’s time we demand the same here in the US! -
We are petitioning Kraft to remove all artificial food dyes
from their line of macaroni and cheese products.
Kraft Foods is the largest food company headquartered here in the United States. If Kraft changes their Macaroni and Cheese formula, we know this could inspire other US food companies to follow suit and finally eliminate dangerous artificial food dyes once and for all. Continue Reading »
If you still haven’t found a good natural replacement for all of those toxic household cleaners – and one that actually works – then this is for you. I’ll never forget when a friend once said to me, “Most people think of harsh chemical cleaners as smelling clean, but I only think of them as smelling like cancer.” She was obviously being very dramatic, but not long after that conversation I decided to clean out everything that was under my kitchen sink. And man, she was right, I owned a plethora of conventional very smelly cleaners. My collection included everything from toilet bowl solution to glass cleaner to bleach…all products that could inflict harm just from their fumes alone, and can you imagine if some was accidentally ingested? (Heathers anyone?) So, right then and there I decided I was done and honestly gave everything to the very same neighbor who willingly accepted all my processed food not too many months before – no hard feelings attached! What can I say, she wanted it and I hated to waste anything.
Then I went through a period of staring at all the different “natural” cleaners for sale at Target. Who doesn’t love the selection at Target? BUT I was at a loss because I could not decipher this stuff like I can food. Even if I tried to read the ingredient labels none of the long names made any sense to me. So here I was trying bottle after bottle (at $4 or $5 a pop I might add) thinking I don’t even know if this stuff is really any better than what I just tossed.
So that’s why I am thrilled to share with you today a natural, non-toxic cleaner from one of our affiliate partners that IS better. Branch Basics is what our family has been using for about a year now and not only is it better, but it has many uses as a household cleaner (carpet cleaning and stain removal included) as well as a personal care product for everything from burns to cold sores to insect repellent to make-up remover to head lice. What?!? I hope I never have to test that claim out, but it’s hard to imagine something safe enough for all these things can also safely and effectively clean your home. In summary, this one formula basically cleans just about anything washable (even your dog!), which is pretty amazing. Continue Reading »
As we soon head into the days without school, summer outings and get togethers can also be coupled with unkempt rooms and mentions of “I’m bored.” Instead of nagging, yelling or constantly reminding your kids of what to do, please know there are positive ways to keep everyone happy. This is why I am excited to once again offer to our readers the very popular and FREE parenting webinar led by Amy McCready with Positive Parenting Solutions. With three different sessions offered (morning and evening), you will not regret taking an hour to join us and learn how to use easy strategies to correct misbehavior and get your kids to listen. No one needs added stress or wants to constantly be nagging or yelling – especially during the summer months! So sign up below for a FREE 1-hour webinar led by parenting expert Amy McCready, founder of Positive Parenting Solutions and regular TODAY Show contributor, if you’d like to learn about getting your “kids to listen without nagging, reminding or yelling.”
