(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The New York Times attempted to fact-check Robert F. Kennedy Jr. but ended up validating his concerns that American foods contain too many chemicals.
RFK Jr.—President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead HHS—previously pointed out that the Froot Loops sold in the U.S. have far more ingredients than the ones made in Canada.
The Times’s Christina Jewett and Julie Creswell wrote Friday that RFK Jr. was “wrong” about the ingredient comparison. The problem? RFK Jr. wasn’t wrong—and Jewett and Creswell inadvertently admitted it.
“He was wrong on the ingredient count, they are roughly the same,” Jewett and Creswell wrote.
In the very next sentence, the duo added, “But the Canadian version does have natural colorings made from blueberries and carrots while the U.S. product contains red dye 40, yellow 5 and blue 1 as well as Butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT, a lab-made chemical that is used ‘for freshness,’ according to the ingredient label.”
"As you see, the ingredient list is just completely identical, except the US product contains formaldehyde, cyanide, and nearly undetectable levels of saxitoxin"
— Brad Cohn (@BradCohn) November 17, 2024
X user Brad Cohn first called out The Times’s absurd fact-check in a viral tweet mocking their conclusion. “As you see, the ingredient list is just completely identical, except the US product contains formaldehyde, cyanide, and nearly undetectable levels of saxitoxin” Cohn joked, garnering over 10 million views in the first post.
In 2022, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment studied the links between red dye 40 and hyperactivity in children.
“The researchers concluded that the FDA’s current standards for how much red dye 40 is safe are based on outdated data, and that the allowed amount is too high,” GoodRx wrote.
According to VeryWellHealth, Yellow 5 has been “suspected of being linked to health problems ranging from allergies to hyperactivity in kids to cancer.” Meanwhile, Blue 1 “may cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals,” Healthline reported.
Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) is used to treat herpes. However, some studies have linked it to cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity, endocrine disruption, and lung and skin irritation, according to WebMD.
GoodRx, VeryWellHealth, Healthline and WebMD noted that some of these side effects are based on limited research. The outlets stated that some scientists have called for more studies before drawing definitive conclusions.
Artificial coloring US vs Canada pic.twitter.com/ytgL6QwDV7
— Dr. Eddie Ramirez (@EddieRDMD) November 17, 2024
