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American mom wants M&M’s European style–without artificial dyes

Posted at 10:51 PM, Jan 07, 2014
and last updated 2014-01-07 22:51:20-05

(CNN) — What gives M&Ms their bright colors? That depends on which country you’re in.

Mars Inc. primarily uses artificial food coloring for the candy in the United Statesbut M&Ms derive their candy coloring from natural sources in Europe.

Now a Change.org petition begun by Renee Shutters and the Center for Science in the Public Interest is calling on Mars to stop using artificial dyes in its American M&Ms as well. As of Tuesday morning, the petition had more than 142,000 supporters.

Shutters says her son Trenton showed noticeable improvements in mood and attention span after she removed artificial coloring from his diet a few years ago. M&Ms were his favorite candy.

“I just could not believe that something so small could make that big of a difference,” Shutters says.

European lawmakers moved to require warning labels on foods containing certain artificial colorings after a 2007 study found a slight increase in hyperactivity among children consuming a mixture of the dyes and a preservative.

The required label reads: “May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.”