Red 40 and Blue 1 Food Dyes in Canada Dry

I am concerned about the use of red 40 and blue 1 food dyes in my favorite drink! That drink is Canada Dry Diet Cranberry Ginger Ale. I buy Canada Dry in the popular 12-packs of 12-ounce cans. Often times there are Publix store promotions from the bottler where you can buy three qualifying 12-packs for $12.00 and get the fourth free or buy two 12-packs and get two free. Many times throughout the warm summer months of Jacksonville, Florida, I have been purchasing up to four 12-packs of Canada Dry Diet Cranberry Ginger Ale at a time.

A drink of Canada Dry Diet Cranberry Ginger Ale
Copyright JaguarJulie Ann Brady

For the average person who maybe consumes a couple 12-ounce cans of this soda during a one-week period of time, food dyes might not be a concern. However, I don't fit this type of profile as I can easily drink half a 12-pack in one day. You see, it is a concern when I am particularly thirsty after working for hours in my yard in the humid heat of Jacksonville, Florida. It is quite easy for me to drink 4 of these cans in one yard workout session, if not more!

Did you ever think that the red 40 and blue 1 food dyes could be colorizing your urine which in turn could be colorizing the underside of your toilet seat? I mean, turning it a pinkish color, with light blue undertones? Gosh, what about my internal organs? Will the food dyes make them a more "healthy" deep pinkish color?

Take a closer look at the vivid red color - I believe you would call it a cool, pinky-red with blue undertones. To see it in person, the color is quite inviting.

Ingredients of Canada Dry Diet Cranberry Ginger Ale
Copyright JaguarJulie Ann Brady

Contents / Ingredients:

The contents of that Canada Dry Diet Cranberry Ginger Ale include: carbonated water, citric acid, sodium benzoate (preservative), malic acid, sodium citrate, aspartame, natural and artificial flavors, red 40, blue 1.

Phenylketonurics: Contains Phenylalanine.

Sodium: 105mg - 4%

Caffeine-Free
Calories: 0

Nutrition Facts: Based on the composite nutritive standing Canada Dry Diet Cranberry Ginger Ale has been given a composite ranking of 16, and sparingly.

Do you know that the Regular Cranberry Ginger Ale has 230 calories per serving! Yikes, that is a lot of calories for one 12-ounce can. Imagine that I was drinking the regular offering whilst working out in my yard. I could easily hit just short of 1,000 calories without really eating anything. That's not a good thing!

Bottom Line:

So, it was my thinking that drinking one of the Canada Dry Ginger Ales would be good for me. You see, my grandma Julia Nagy always had some ginger ale for us kids to drink when we weren't feeling well. Perhaps that ginger ale of the 1950s was more healthful. Writing this page today, I was originally concerned with the red 40 and blue 1 food dyes in Canada Dry Diet Cranberry Ginger Ale.

Canada Dry Diet Cranberry Ginger Ale
Copyright JaguarJulie Ann Brady

Maybe I should be concerned about the aspartame and phenylalanine that is in that drink? To eliminate the dangers of the food dyes, I could drink the other version of Canada Dry Ginger Ale without the cranberry.

But, wait! Googling just to determine the ingredients of the regular Canada Dry Ginger Ale, I found many a resource questioning whether there really is real ginger in the ginger ale. After all, that was the reason I started drinking it in the first place; i.e., to benefit from the health effects of ginger - like my grandma taught me. Now I find that there are negative health side effects of Canada Dry Ginger Ale according to a report on Livestrong.com!

Oh boy! Time to find another favorite drink I think. Hey Canada Dry! Why not remove those questionable red 40 and blue 1 food dyes from my "former" favorite drink? And, while you are at it ... how about not adding phenylalanine?

After taking the time to research and write this page, I have now come to the conclusion that change is good. I will be changing my drinking habits. I will no longer be buying my former favorite drink from Canada Dry. Now, I do think it is a good opportunity for Canada Dry to capitalize on the healthful benefits of ginger and provide us consumers with a healthful ginger ale. Oh, get the red out please!

Online Research:

If you do a little of your own research online, you will find many sources which question the safety of these food dyes. For example, FDA Probes Link Between Food Dyes and Kids' Behavior -- The Center for Science in the Public Interest is asking the FDA to ban these artificial food dyes. 

• Red No. 40 Allura Red - The most widely used food dye in terms of pounds consumed, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Found in cereal, gelatin, candy, baked goods.
• Blue No. 1 Brilliant Blue - Found in ice cream, canned peas, candy, drinks, dessert powders, mouthwash.

Additional Resources:

• FDA Consumer Health Information - Downloadable PDF - How Safe are Color Additives?
• Food Safety News - EU Places Warning Labels on Foods Containing Dyes
• Red Dye #40 is found in almost all categories of food.
• Research has suggested a link between children who appear to have ADHD and Red Dye 40.
• New fears about food dyes including Brilliant Blue.

By the way, are you curious about the origination of ginger ale? Who is credited with inventing ginger ale?