The Nation - News from April 2, 1985

The Food and Drug Administration said that it needs 60 more days to determine if 10 widely used food and drug dyes are a threat to public health, a decision that it has been weighing for more than 24 years. The FDA said that it has issued another extension of its decision deadline to June 3. The stated reason is the same as for past extensions, a spokesman said; that more time is needed to review the scientific data. The extension comes although the FDA is the target of a lawsuit by a public interest group, in which the courts have been asked to step in and order a ban of the dyes as dangerous to public health.