To make the obvious parallel here, I am totally glad that the way your cousin's parents dealt with it was not to deny the use of the dye to everyone else in the country.
Well, it was 20-odd years ago. That and his dad doesn't particularly like lawyers. :-)
There would have been a revolt. Most chocolate (at the time, dunno if it's still true) had red#2 in it. As did hot dogs (The good, bright red ones!), kool aid and most other drinks, a ton of different candies and gums.
The one that surprised him was store-bought apples, as a 'color enhancer'. Go figure. The local orchard loved to see that family coming....they didn't need to dye their produce to make it look good.