A U.S. watchdog group is pushing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of eight artificial food dyes, as they may cause hyperactivity and behavior problems, like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in some children.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) sustains that controlled studies conducted over three decades have shown that children can become hyperactive after eating foods containing artificial food dye. In fact, Michael F Jacobson, executive director of the CSPI said Americans are now consuming twice as much food dye per person as they did 50 years ago.

Therefore, the group is asking the FDA to ban the following eight food dyes: Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Orange B, Red 3, and Yellow 6. These ingredients, primarily derived from petroleum and coal tars, are used in everything from candies to cereals, soft drinks, and snack foods. Jacobson told the Associated Press that these chemicals are used to mask the absence of real food and to increase the appeal of a low-nutrition product to children.

However, the FDA dismissed the request saying on its web site “although the hypothesis was popularized in the 1970s, well-controlled studies conducted since then have produced no evidence that food additives cause hyperactivity or learning disabilities in children.”

The FDA’s position was also embraced by a prominent industry group, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, whose chief science officer Robert Brackett said parents and children “can safely enjoy food products containing these food colors.”

ADHD affects 3 to 7 percent of children, according to the American Psychiatric Association, with more boys being diagnosed with the disorder than girls. Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Landover, Md., an advocacy group, says factors like heredity, difficult pregnancies, prenatal exposure to alcohol and tobacco and excessively high body lead levels are to be blamed for developing ADHD. However, it sustains that no conclusive research has determined so far how dietary issues play a role in developing the disorder.