Tyson Foods Says It Will Eliminate Synthetic Dyes From Food Products by May
Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King made the announcement during an earnings call with investors, saying the company has been 'proactively reformulating' food products that contain any type of synthetic dyes.
King did not specify a date for when this elimination process will be completed, but noted that most of Tyson Foods' products, including its chicken nuggets, already do not include such dyes.
He added that none of the products offered through school nutrition programs contain petroleum-based synthetic dyes as ingredients.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised Tyson Foods for taking swift action in response to the agency's plan to phase out those types of dyes from the nation's food supply.
'I look forward to seeing more companies follow suit and put the health of Americans first. Together, we will make America Healthy Again,' he
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On April 22, HHS and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary called on food companies to use natural ingredients in their food products instead, citing concerns over the potential impacts of petrochemical dyes on children's health.
'We have a new epidemic of childhood diabetes, obesity, depression, and ADHD,' Makary said in a
Studies have linked artificial dyes with various neurobehavioral problems, according to a 2021
According to the report, the number of American children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD has increased from an estimated 6.1 percent to 10.2 percent over the past 20 years.
The FDA in January
Previously, in March, Kennedy
'They said it's going to take us a while,' Kennedy
Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
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New York Post
27 minutes ago
- New York Post
Bread may be to blame for your depression and fatigue — and cause schizophrenia
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Revealing data shows number of caregivers in the US has skyrocketed
Caroline Edwards, 59, helps her mother sit up in bed every morning and hands her a glass of water. Then, she retells her mother's life story, pointing to family photos on the wall. Her mother, Ingrid Martinez, started showing signs of Alzheimer's disease in 2017, Edwards said. It started slowly, but now her mom needs 24/7 care. "One day you realize her entire life and everything it encompasses − her house, her shopping for groceries and her personal care, her dog, her yard, filing her taxes, paying her property taxes, all of her bills, everything − is, like, suddenly in your hands," Edwards, of Mission Viejo, California, said. Now, more than ever, millions of Americans are in Edwards' shoes. Nearly 1 in 4 American adults are caregivers, according to a report, "Caregiving in the US 2025," jointly published by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving on July 24. It estimates more than 63 million adults are family caregivers who have provided care to adults or children with a medical condition or disability at some point in the past year. That's a 45% increase − 20 million more caregivers − in the last decade. That number doesn't include people who take care of children without a medical condition or disability. The report, which was first conducted in 1997 and this year includes data from a national survey of nearly 7,000 family caregivers, estimates 91 million Americans care for children under 18 in their households. The Cost of Care recent feature: Her mom got sick, she moved in to help. Years later, they both feel trapped. 'Family caregivers are a backbone of our health and long-term care systems − often providing complex care with little or no training, sacrificing their financial future and their own health, and too often doing it alone,' AARP CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan said in a news release. 'As our population ages, we must act boldly to support people providing this crucial source of care.' People are providing care for longer, too. Nearly 30% of caregivers have provided care for 5 years or more, an increase of 24% since 2015, the report found. "Families are doing more. They're being asked to do more. They're taking on more. And it's affecting every member of the family," Rita Choula, senior director of caregiving at AARP, told USA TODAY. While several policies have increased financial support for family caregivers in recent years, the report says less than 1 in 5 family caregivers were paid for the care they provided. Financial struggles are common among caregivers, and most survey respondents said tax credits, paid leave and paid caregiving programs would help. Caregivers said they need help in other ways, too. Respite care, help with paperwork, better paid leave policies and emotional support were among the most sought-after services caregivers said they valued in the survey. Caregivers in America are diverse, but a lot of them are like Edwards: middle-aged women caring for an aging parent. The report found the average age of a caregiver is 51 years old, that 61% of caregivers are women and that 70% of caregivers ages 18-64 are employed while also providing care. A woman's retirement crisis: Between caregiving and gender wage gap, can they catch up? Approximately 16 million of today's caregivers are in the sandwich generation, balancing care for both adults and children. Edwards is one of those caregivers, with a 17-year-old daughter heading into her senior year of high school. "You can't be a great mom and a great daughter at the same time. It's impossible," Edwards said. "I have a tremendous amount of guilt from all the time I have not spent with my daughter." Dementia, Alzheimer's impact 11% of care recipients Old age is the most common main reason care recipients need assistance, survey respondents said. The second most-common condition, at 11%, is Alzheimer's or dementia. An additional 19% of respondents indicated their care recipient is living with a cognitive impairment, leaving more than 1 in 4 caregivers caring for someone with memory issues and/or dementia. Another 17% of caregivers said they are "not sure" if their care recipient has a memory issue. Caregiving for someone with dementia is an intense type of care that involves more complex tasks, Choula said. And many people with dementia develop other chronic conditions, too, like heart disease or cancer, which can further complicate their care. "You're essentially having to function for that individual," Choula said. "You're having to make difficult choices and life sustaining choices for that individual." For Edwards, caregiving means helping Martinez use the bathroom and shower. She makes her meals and takes her to doctor's appointments. They play games and do puzzles together, and go for walks and drives around town. It's "very isolating, very lonely" to be a full-time caregiver, Edwards said. Sometimes she sees her mother nod and start to remember some parts of her life. But other times, Edwards said, "there's nothing there." Caregivers want respite care, help finding affordable resources Most caregivers live with their care recipient or within 20 minutes of them, according to the report from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving. Caregivers average 27 hours of care work per week, and nearly 1 in 4 caregivers provide at least 40 hours of care weekly. This care work can be overwhelming, caregivers say, and only 11% of caregivers said they've received formal training. 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Neal Shah, CEO of CareYaya Health Technologies, a tech platform that connects people in need of care with health care students, said there are lots of reasons why family caregivers don't get the help they need. Caregivers are underpaid, there's a caregiver workforce shortage and care services are too expensive for many families. There can also be shame, guilt and questions about care quality, which he experienced firsthand when he cared for his wife who was sick with cancer. "I kept taking sabbaticals from my work to manage her care, because every time I tried to get care help, the quality was just so bad. The reliability, the interpersonal interactions," Shah said. "I felt very guilty." The survey also found more family caregivers have had difficulty finding affordable care services since 2015. Finding meal delivery programs, transportation services and in-home health help is a struggle for 28% of caregivers. Caregivers find purpose in caring for loved ones While caregiving can take a toll on mental health, the report also found half of caregivers say the responsibility provides a sense of purpose or meaning in life. Family caregivers often find they grow closer to their loved one in caring for them, Choula said. Caregiving can also be empowering for some family caregivers, and allows adult children especially a chance to return the care their parents once gave them. While caring for her mother has been challenging, Edwards said she wants her mom to be able to stay at home. They've always been close, she said. Just a look from Edwards can make Martinez smile. "I do this out of my love I have for her," Edwards said. Madeline Mitchell's role covering women and the caregiving economy at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input. Reach Madeline at memitchell@ and @maddiemitch_ on X.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
RFK Jr. rescinds endorsements for some flu vaccines
The decision will not affect most Americans seeking flu vaccines: Thimerosal is added to multidose vials of flu vaccines to prevent bacteria from growing, but it is not an ingredient of the single-dose vials administered to most people. During the 2024-25 respiratory virus season, only 3% of children and 2% of older adults received flu vaccines containing thimerosal, according to an analysis of electronic health records by Truveta, a company that analyzes such records. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Still, multidose vials are needed in places where it is difficult to store many vaccines, such as nursing homes or mobile clinics serving remote rural areas. Advertisement Kennedy's sign-off does not withdraw vaccines containing thimerosal from the market. But his rescinding the federal recommendation means that such shots may not be available to Americans, because insurance companies are no longer required to cover them. 'We urge global health authorities to follow this prudent example for the protection of children worldwide,' Kennedy said in a statement. Vaccine manufacturers have confirmed that they have the capacity to replace multidose vials containing mercury, ensuring that vaccine supplies for children and adults will 'remain uninterrupted,' the Department for Health and Human Services said in a statement. Advertisement Federal health officials began removing thimerosal from childhood vaccines about 25 years ago, citing an abundance of caution despite a lack of data supporting safety concerns. Dozens of studies have shown thimerosal to be harmless. But the anti-vaccine community has long falsely maintained that the ingredient can cause neurological problems. At a meeting of the vaccine advisers last month, Lyn Redwood, a former leader of Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy, claimed thimerosal was dangerous and toxic to children. Her presentation incorrectly said the only flu vaccine still containing thimerosal had 50 micrograms per dose, double the actual amount. The seven new advisers voted 5-1, with one abstention, to withdraw recommendations for flu vaccines containing thimerosal for children, pregnant women and other adults. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention typically accepts the recommendations of the committee. But the agency does not currently have a leader, so the decision fell to Kennedy. This article originally appeared in .
