When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was floated as a pick for Health and Human Services under President-elect Donald Trump, many expected pushback. What wasn’t expected was that The New York Times would accidentally validate his concerns while trying to discredit him. In their rush to nitpick his statements about the additives in American food, they may have inadvertently proven his point. The cherry on top? Their own fact-checks ended up more of a self-own than a rebuttal.
RFK Jr. raised an eyebrow at the difference between American and Canadian Froot Loops. He questioned why American cereals have up to 18 or 19 ingredients while Canadian versions clock in with far fewer, using more natural additives. The Times tried to dunk on him by pointing out ingredient counts are “roughly the same.” But hold on—what’s actually in those ingredients? That’s where Kennedy’s critique holds weight. The U.S. version includes synthetic dyes like Red 40 and preservatives like BHT, whereas Canada sticks to natural colorings like blueberry and carrot extracts.
As reported on Legal Insurrection:
Mr. Kennedy has singled out Froot Loops as an example of a product with too many ingredients. In an interview with MSNBC on Nov. 6, he questioned the overall ingredient count: “Why do we have Froot Loops in this country that have 18 or 19 ingredients and you go to Canada and it has two or three?” Mr. Kennedy asked.
He was wrong on the ingredient count, they are roughly the same. 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.
The cherry-picking didn’t go unnoticed. Social media exploded with biting comments: “So, RFK Jr. is accurate, but you don’t like his tone?” wrote one incredulous user on X (formerly Twitter). Another quipped, “It’s the same… just completely different ingredients.”
BREAKING: @alicegcallahan, who wrote that NYT article about Froot Loops, wrote an article one year ago today for Knowable Magazine on the negative effects of ultra processed foods including cereal. You can’t make this stuff up. pic.twitter.com/YWDzwZFgTb
— Claire A (@ClaireOnCulture) November 18, 2024
Now let’s talk about those ingredients The Times glossed over. Red 40? Linked to hyperactivity in kids and DNA damage in studies with mice. Yellow 5? Known to trigger allergic reactions, especially in individuals sensitive to aspirin. And BHT? A preservative with a shady track record, flagged for potential cancer links in animal studies. While the FDA insists these are “safe,” states like California are leading the charge to phase them out. By 2027, school vending machines across the state won’t feature products with these additives—a quiet nod to Kennedy’s concerns.
RFK Jr says our Froot Loops have more artificial ingredients, which according to NYT is untrue because they’re basically the same…except for all the artificial ingredients in ours.
You gotta give the NYT credit. It takes a lot of…something…to write that paragraph. pic.twitter.com/XY1l0ZdY6U
— Matt Batzel (@MattBatzel) November 18, 2024
Here’s the real kicker: if Canada can do it, why can’t we? Nobody’s saying these dyes and preservatives need to disappear overnight, but shouldn’t American families get a real choice? Kennedy’s push for transparency in what’s considered “safe” might just resonate with a public fed up with obesity and chronic disease epidemics. It’s high time an independent team, untethered from Big Food lobbyists, reassesses the FDA’s outdated Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) designations.
The New York Times may have tried to score points against RFK Jr., but their misstep only fueled the debate. Americans deserve better food options—and maybe a fact-checker who isn’t working overtime to cover for the status quo.
