Food dyes have been around for centuries. They make food look attractive. But are they safe? That question has been around for years, and depending on who you speak to, the answer will be either yes or no.
Why Use Food Coloring?
A food dye is a substance, either liquid or powder, that is added to food or drinks to change its color appearance. It appears in both commercial food production and in domestic cooking. It is frequently used to make the food product reflect the expectations of consumers. Oranges are supposed to look orange. Apples are supposed to look red. Consider that without food coloring, butter would not have the yellow tint, cola’s would not be dark, pickles would not look green. Food colorings make the product appear in the way that the consumer expects it to look.
Due to its safety and general availability, food coloring is also available in a variety of non-food applications. For example, in home craft projects and in school courses.
Where Do Food Dies Come From?
Most dyes are synthetic, meaning they are man-made. However, the origin of the dye, even if now it is artificial had some real chemical basis. And that is that it came from coal tar products and later petroleum was substituted.
Types of Dyes
There are seven standard dyes today that meet the conditions for approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Blue #1, brilliant blue, FCF, E133, available in the form of both dyes and lake Blue #2, Indigotine, E132, dyes and lake Green #3, Fast Green, FCF, E143 dyes and lake Red #40, Allura Red, AC, E129, dyes and lake Red #3, Erythrosine, E127, dye only Yellow #5, Tartrazine, E102, Dye only Yellow #6, Sunset Yellow, FCF, E110, dye only
FCF stands for “For Coloring Food” (US). E stands for European Union; the number is comparable to the US number for the dye.
A dye is a water-soluble product frequently used in beverages, dairy products, baked goods and the like. The non-water soluble form are lakes and they in turn are generally used in the manufacture of hard candies, chewing gum and the hard shell medications.
These dyes are safe, at least by FDA standards. However, there have been some controversies associated with them.
Medical Repercussions
While the final answer is still in the closet, advocates for and against food dye coloring will point to examples where dyes have had a bad impact or none at all.
One common example brought up is that food dyes cause children to become hyperactive. Some studies have confirmed this, but the criticism is that the studies are inconclusive since dyes, as the criticism states, if harmful, may only affect a smaller set of children who have some undiscovered genetic syndrome. Moreover, the link of food dyes to all children with hyperactivity has not been established.
Not only that, but children who appear to be sensitive to dyes may also be subject to the neurological effects caused by other ingredients, even those involving naturally occurring components such as wheat and chocolate.
In all, though additional work needs to be done, but for now the real color of food is green, i.e. The market value produced by giving people the food in the color they want and expect.