Ever wonder what gives mint ice cream its brilliant green color or red velvet cake its deep red color? Food color additives are responsible for these common food colors. Without color additives mint ice cream wouldn’t be green, cola wouldn’t be brown and red velvet cake wouldn’t be very red.
Food color additives have a long history of use in our food supply. However, as consumers become more conscious about their health, many are concerned about the safety of these additives.
What are food color additives?
A color additive is any dye, pigment or substance that adds color to food. Color additives are made from natural or artificial ingredients. Natural ingredients used for coloring are made from fruits, vegetables or edible plants. Ingredients not found in nature are synthetically produced as artificial color. Yogurt, gelatin, baked goods, margarine, cheese, soft drinks, jam, pudding, and pie filling are some of the foods with added color.
Color additives are used for many reasons: to offset color loss due to exposure to light, air, temperature extremes, moisture, and storage conditions; to correct natural variations in color; to enhance natural colors; or to give color to fun or colorless foods for appeal.
Are food color additives safe?
The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates all color additives – natural and artificial – ensuring that any food containing a color additive is safe to eat, has only approved ingredients ,and is accurately labeled.
Today, food and color additives are…
…more strictly studied, regulated and monitored than at any other time in history. The FDA considers the composition and properties of the color additive, the amount that would typically be consumed, immediate and long-term health effects and various safety factors.
FDA’s Committee on Hypersensitivity to Food Constituents identified FD&C (FDA approved for Food, Drugs & Cosmetics) Yellow No. 5 as the only known color additive that might cause hives in rare cases. It is estimated that less than one out of 10,000 people will have a sensitivity to FD&C Yellow No. 5.
How are food color additives listed on a product label?
Food manufacturers are required to list all ingredients in the food on the label. On a product label ingredients are listed in order of weight, from most to least. There are nine FDA approved color additives. You will find them listed on the product label as FD&C Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, Red No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Orange B (only approved for use in hot dog and sausage casings), Citrus Red No. 2 (approved only to color orange peels). Some ingredients can be listed collectively as artificial colors. However, Yellow No. 5 must always be identified to allow those who may be sensitive to the color to avoid it.
If you wish to avoid artificial color additives look for phrases like “Colored with Fruit Juice,” or “Vegetable Juice Color,” on the product label. Annatto extract, beet juice, paprika, carrot oil, grape skin extract or saffron are common natural ingredients used as color additives.
Bottom Line
All color additives, whether artificial or natural, are strictly studied, regulated, monitored and subject to ongoing safety reviews. However, if you prefer to avoid color additives reading the food labels and eating more foods that are minimally processed will help.
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