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why not red dye??

F

frédérick

New member
Hi all! I am sure this subject has been brought up on several occasions, yet I've took the time to search for a thread or posts that can lead me to solid infos on why we should avoid red dye in the food of the mices we breed, and failed so far lol. I apologize if the question is redundant...and thanks for any help/link!


cheers! Fred
 
I don't know the reason why, but here are my thoughts. I tend to stay away from and animal food with any artifical dyes because it isn't healthy for the animal. Maybe it's the same reason and since we feed them to our snakes we want them to be healthy so our snakes are healthy. I don't know if that is right it's just a thought.

As far as food for mice I was told the best food for them is Mazuri mouse food. It's much cleaner also then the mixed seed foods too.
 
yes! i have come down to this conclusion too, although at any rate i wonder if the red (dye) scare of the 70's might... ''taint'' this opinion :rolleyes:...as far as I have read, the dye must be present in pretty high doses in the rodent's diet...but I am using dog food which contains this as a treat and to help a female get fat and resourceful during/before pregnancy! I am asking this question: 1- because of sheer interest to know the reasons behind this advocation and 2- because I accidently bought a bag of dog food which contains red dye and want to know if it isnt that big of a deal for some time...thanks for the input both of you!


Fred
 
It's a hold-over from the previous scare. Manufacturers don't use that particular dye anymore. As a special treat, the dog food will be fine for your mice.
 
I remember that scare when I was younger. I was so sad when they removed the red M&Ms.
 
I know with the African Soft Furs, you can't feed them anything with red dye because it does something weird to their internal system, and that gets passed on to your snake. If I remember correctly. Hopefully CaptBogart will see this and correct my misinformation. LOL
 
This was a study from 2008.




DNA damage induced by red food dyes orally administered to pregnant and male mice.

Tsuda S, et al, Toxicol Sci 2001, May;61(1):92-9
"We determined the genotoxicity of synthetic red tar dyes (amaranth - Red 2, allura red - Red 40, acid red - #106, new coccine - No. 18) currently used as food color additives in many countries, including Japan. …The assay was positive in the colon 3 hours after the administration of ama-ranth and allura red and weakly positive in the lung 6 hours after the administration of amaranth. Acid red did not induce DNA damage in any sample at any sampling time. …The 3 dyes induced DNA damage in the colon starting at 10 mg/kg. …6.5 mg/10 ml of new coccine induced DNA damage in colon, glandular stomach, and bladder….the 3 azo additives we examined induced colon DNA damage at very low doses.



A study on the reproductive toxicity of erythrosine (Red No. 3) in male mice.

Abdel Aziz AH, et al, Pharmacol Res 1997 May:35(5):457-62
"The potential adverse effects of erythrosine (ER FD&C Red No. 3) on the spermatogenesis process were investigated in adult mice. . . sperm count as well as the percentage of motile sperms were significantly inhibited by about 50% and 57% respectively. Moreover. . .it increased the incidence of sperms with abnormal head by about 57% and 65% respectively. The induced increase in sperm abnormalities could enhance the spermatogenetic dysfunction and germ cell mutagenicity. These findings indicate that ER with used doses has a potential toxic effect on spermatogenesis in mice and in turn, it may affect its testicular function and reproductive performance."






Hope this helps.
 
If you feed dogfood regularly you will find that the smell of your rodents will increase, they won't look as healthy and they will not reproduce in the same numbers as rodents that are not fed dogfood.

It's best just to avoid it if possible.
 
thanks for the info! I guess I'll steer away from dog food for now on...theyll get more veggies and food scraps in general :)
 
If you can find bright red hot dogs that turn pink when boiled, you ought'a try those, though.
 
I always thought they removed the red M&Ms because of the Cold War. Red being the color of Communist Countries.
 
It depends on the source of the red dye.
When the Conquistadores came to Florida, they enslaved the Indians to pick little bugs off of Opuntia cactus pads. 40,000-60,000 of these little white fuzzy bugs yielded 1 pound of red dye. At that time, a pound of red dye was worth 40 times more than a pound of gold.
The name of this bug is Cochineal.
When synthetic dyes were created, the use of Cochineal subsided. However, in the late 1960's and early 70's, these dyes were discovered to be carcenogenic. The next time you eat a red hotdog, apply red lipstick, or take a red (pill) drug, yup, you're consuming bug guts. It is usually labeled as "carmine". Because it is an insect, persons who suffer from Asthma may have allergic reactions, and not realize why.
Here are two pictures.
So to answer the initial question, it depends upon the source of the red dye. Today most newspapers printed in color and a slew of other applications are colored red using non-toxic soybean based dyes. But the cosmetics and hotdogs are still made from a more stable, longer lasting colorant, handy lil bugs they are.
 
Americans are so shocked when they see someone eating a bug but they don't realize that bugs make their way into many of the products we consume. Next time you're enjoying a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich try not to think about all the ants that couldn't be processed out of the peanuts.
 
James42785 said:
Americans are so shocked when they see someone eating a bug but they don't realize that bugs make their way into many of the products we consume. Next time you're enjoying a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich try not to think about all the ants that couldn't be processed out of the peanuts.
Click to expand...

What are you talking about? Ants are delicious! When they're chocolate covered. Taste just like rice krispies. :D And chocolate covered scorpions are pretty good, too. I just don't eat 'em while they're still wriggling.
 
i have had chocolate covered crickets from flukers when i was little... even got the "I ate a bug club" pin...lol.
eating strange things never really bothered me much... though i have never had chocolate covered ants or scorpions.... sounds interesting.
 
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