Almost since the beginning of time various plants and herbs have been added to food to either enhance flavor or help preserve it. Our ancestors used salt to preserve meats and fish, added herbs and spices to improve the flavor of foods, preserved fruit with sugar, and pickled cucumbers in a vinegar solution.
Today, consumers demand and enjoy a food supply that is flavorful, nutritious, safe, convenient, colorful and affordable. Food additives and advances in technology help make that possible. Most processed foods would have a dull appearance if it weren't for the food colorings that are added during the manufacturing process. These artificial colorings are added to foods to enhance their appeal -- especially to children, who love bright hues.
A food color additive is any dye, pigment or substance which, when added or applied to food, is capable (alone or through reactions with other substances) of imparting color. The FDA is responsible for regulating all color additives to ensure that foods containing color additives are safe to eat, contain only approved ingredients and are accurately labeled.
Do you want Artificial Color in food ?
Dyes and Lakes
There are two different types of certified color additives; referred to as dyes or lakes.
Dyes dissolve in water and are usually used as powders, granules, or liquids. They're commonly used in beverages, baked goods, confections and dairy products.
Lakes do not dissolve in water, and are more stable than dyes, so they are most often used for coloring food products containing fats and oils, or in products that contain no moisture at all, such as cake mixes, hard candies, and chewing gum.
Color Additives offset color loss due to exposure to light, air, temperature extremes, moisture and storage conditions; correct natural variations in color; enhance colors that occur naturally; provide color to colorless and "fun" foods. Without color additives, colas wouldn't be brown, margarine wouldn't be yellow and mint ice cream wouldn't be green. Color additives are now recognized as an important part of practically all processed foods we eat.
The Hershey Company uses a variety of artificial colors, all of which are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA). Nevertheless, Hershey has always placed the safety and quality of their products on highest priority. All ingredients used in production meet or exceed U.S. government standards, including those established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA).
Is ARTIFICIAL COLOR healthy or safe for me?
Some of the sources of the dyes used as food additives are reported to cause allergic reactions. Additionally there is a belief held by many people that the artificial food colorings cause ADHD in some children, although no official scientific study has shown definitive substantial evidence.
The FDA considers several factors before allowing artificial colors to be certified, such as the composition of the substance; the amount that would be typically used in a product; the amount usually consumed; and any healthy effects and safety factors.
Artificial colors must be listed in the ingredients list on the Nutrition Facts label, but since they're considered safe, no other warning or additional labeling is required. You'll find these certified color additives when you look on food labels:
FD&C Blue Nos. 1 and 2
FD&C Green No. 3
FD&C Red Nos. 3 and 40
FD&C Yellow Nos. 5 and 6
Orange B
Citrus Red No. 2
Safety and Certification
Preferable to avoid them
Although artificial colorings are safe to consume, many people would prefer to avoid them; particularly since in the recent past, colorings once considered to be safe have later on been removed from the safe list by the FDA.
Colors such as annatto extract (yellow), dehydrated beets (bluish-red to brown), caramel (yellow to tan), beta-carotene (yellow to orange) and grape skin extract (red, green) all add color without adding artificial chemicals. So many consider these as best alternatives. These tend to be more expensive than the artificial colorings, so they're not typically used to color cheaply processed foods.
So, while it is still up to individual preference, many people prefer to stick to all natural foods without artificial colorings, particularly for their children.
You are probably wondering why we have written this article on artifical coloring when we are a reusable straw. It is because we care! We care about the envronment, and we care about you. That is why we came up with The Last Straw, reusable straw.
This the first of several articles we will add from time to time on health and taking care of yourself and the environment.
Tags: Artificial Food Color, Food Dyes, Food Safety, Hershey, FDA, The Last Straw, reusable straw