Were one of the colors of M&Ms bad for people back when they first came out?

[LordJezo]

Thought I heard something about that once...

 

[godmare]

I dunno but Coke used to be green when it was sold, before they colored it 'cola'

 

[BruinEd03]

Originally posted by: godmare
I dunno but Coke used to be green when it was sold, before they colored it 'cola'

Coke also used to have the good stuff that Prez Bush likes.

-Ed

 

[Rob9874]

Yeah, they had to discontinue red because some people were allergic to the dye. For those older people like me, you can remember when there were no red M&M's. I think they added them back in the mid-90's sometime.

 

[Syringer]

I heard brown is the only non-artificially colored one..since chocolate is naturally brown

 

[Beau]

Originally posted by: godmare
I dunno but Coke used to be green when it was sold, before they colored it 'cola'

Only to the colorblind

 

[ObiDon]

Was that red dye #5?

 

[Beau]

Originally posted by: ObiDon
Was that red dye #5?

Was that like Yellow Dye #5?

 

[godmare]

Originally posted by: Beau

Originally posted by: godmare
I dunno but Coke used to be green when it was sold, before they colored it 'cola'

Only to the colorblind

Nooooooooo....
My world transcends the realm of the recognizeable!

 

[ElFenix]

they used to put red food coloring in hot dogs too, which is why they were called "red hots"

 

[amnesiac]

^^^ Red 5 is Skywalker dood.

Dye was Red #20 I think.

 

[Beau]

BTW, it was red dye #2

Red Dye #2: For the better part of the 20th century, Red Dye #2 (RD#2) was the most widely used food coloring. Then in the 1970s, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was prompted to study the possible health effects of the dye after several studies with questionable findings were released. Midway through the FDA's study the test groups were mixed up, rendering the results scientifically worthless. Nevertheless, because of intense political pressure, the FDA attempted to draw conclusions from the botched study and subsequently revoked RD#2's provisional approval. Ironically, RD#2 was replaced by the more expensive Red Dye #40, which had not undergone nearly the amount of rigorous testing RD#2 had.

 

[ObiDon]

Originally posted by: Beau

Originally posted by: ObiDon
Was that red dye #5?

Was that like Yellow Dye #5?

That's not the dye I was thinking about but that's pretty funny!

 

[sciencetoy]

Food History

M & M CANDIES

Originally made as a high-energy field snack for American soldiers, because "they melt in your mouth, not in your hand." M&M's were named after Forrest Mars and Bruce Murries, the inventors.

Red M&M's were discontinued for 11 years from 1976 to 1985 after the FDA banned Red Dye No. 2, even though M&M's did not contain this dye. They have always used Red #'s 3 and 40!

Many consumers protested, and a student at the University of Tennessee (Paul Hethmon, the photo editor on the student newspaper, the Daily Beacon) started a society for the Restoration and Preservation of Red M&M's. Eventually the company relented and began producing it again. It was reintroduced it at about the same time as glasnost and the crumbling of the anti-Red scare. Focus groups were held to decide the correct proportions for the gradual reintroduction of the banned variety during the Christmas season of 1985.

At last, a subject I'm an expert on - M&M's.

 

[ScottyB]

I first read this as: "Were one of the colors of M&Ms bad for black people when they first came out?." I was like :Q

 

[Encryptic]

Originally posted by: Syringer
I heard brown is the only non-artificially colored one..since chocolate is naturally brown

A lot of things are naturally brown. I'll leave it at that.

 

[Rob9874]

Originally posted by: sciencetoy

Food History

M & M CANDIES

Originally made as a high-energy field snack for American soldiers, because "they melt in your mouth, not in your hand." M&M's were named after Forrest Mars and Bruce Murries, the inventors.

Red M&M's were discontinued for 11 years from 1976 to 1985 after the FDA banned Red Dye No. 2, even though M&M's did not contain this dye. They have always used Red #'s 3 and 40!

Many consumers protested, and a student at the University of Tennessee (Paul Hethmon, the photo editor on the student newspaper, the Daily Beacon) started a society for the Restoration and Preservation of Red M&M's. Eventually the company relented and began producing it again. It was reintroduced it at about the same time as glasnost and the crumbling of the anti-Red scare. Focus groups were held to decide the correct proportions for the gradual reintroduction of the banned variety during the Christmas season of 1985.

At last, a subject I'm an expert on - M&M's.

But did they only use the red M&M's in the green and red Christmas variety? I (vaguely) remember red M&M's not being introduced back into regular M&M's until more recently.

 

[yukichigai]

I liked it when there weren't red M&M's because when I'd accidentally mix Skittles with M&M's it was easier to notice.