Discover Synthetic & Healthy Food Colors

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Discover Synthetic & Healthy Food Colors

#MummaSaysNo
Mumma Says Strike Out Synthetic Colorant!

As a parent, a cook, a caretaker, or a healthcare professional, it’s imperative to know the ill effects of synthetic colorants. Color is a key component to increase the ultimate appetizing value and consumer acceptance towards foods and beverages.1

Synthetic colors have been increasingly used than natural edible colors by food manufacturers to attain certain properties such as low cost, improved appearance, high color intensity, more color stability, and uniformity.1 The use of nonpermitted colours and careless use/overuse of permitted colours are known to cause adverse health effects in humans.2

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You See Them Here, There And Everywhere.

A variety of meals and drinks that are sold in the market could have excessive amounts of approved synthetic colors as well as prohibited synthetic colors. Serious health issues like mutations, malignancies, low hemoglobin concentrations, and allergic reactions could result from this.1 Since the 1970s, there have been sporadic reports of concerns regarding potential links between exposure to artificial food coloring and the escalation of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children.2

Inch Closer To Safety By Saying Hello To Safe Colors!

What is Safe Edible Colour?

Food colorings, or color additives, are considered generally safe and not bad for you if they are approved by the department that regulates food dyes.1 Due to their many medicinal properties, natural food colorants can have a major effect on human health. Based on the sources of plants, animals, minerals, and microbes that can be found in nature, the natural colors have been categorized.3

How to Identify Colorants in Products?

Reading food labels is essential. In India, before anything can be added to food, it must be approved by the National Food and Drug Administration and Control (NFDAC) in conjunction with the Standard Organization on India.1 As per NFDAC, all synthetic colour or mixture of colours shall carry on label - the lot number of the mixture, words “food grade colour”; and common name of the individual colours (synthetic or inorganic) in the mixture.2

How to Protect Children from Harmful Synthetic Colorants?

For over 35 years, studies have examined the impact of artificial food colors (AFCs) on child behavior, with accumulating evidence from imperfect research.1  California’s Environmental Protection Agency reported in August 2020 that some children exposed to synthetic food dyes may exhibit behavioral issues like inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and restlessness.2

Which Chemicals in Colorants are Not Safe?

Identifying unsafe chemicals is crucial. Synthetic colors like Sunset Yellow, Red 40, Amaranth, Tartrazine, Brilliant Blue, Indigo Carmine, and Allura Red may pose health risks, such as connections to Allergies, ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Cancer. According to the report, Red No. 3, Red No. 40 and Yellow No. 5 showed the strongest associations with behavioral effects in children, as compared to other artificial dyes.2

Risks of Synthetic Colorants

Numerous studies have linked synthetic colorants to various health issues, including allergies, ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Cancer. 

Synthetic colorants were largely used, but have been progressively substituted by those obtained from natural origins. Numerous side effects and toxicity, at both medium and long-terms, allergic reactions, behavioral and neurocognitive effects have been related with their use.

Long Term Exposure to Synthetic Colorants.

Prolonged exposure to synthetic colorants may contribute to severe health issues, linked to various chronic health conditions. An older study in rats linked Citrus Red No. 2 with cancer, but the FDA conducted two larger studies in rats and mice that found no such association. However, various laboratory studies have suggested that long-term exposure to the dye has the potential to promote cancer, damage to DNA (genes) and nervous system problems.

Stay informed, make conscious choices, and embark on a journey towards a healthier, color-filled life.

References

  • Dey, S. and Nagababu, B.H. (2022) ‘Applications of food color and bio-preservatives in the food and its effect on the human health’, Food Chemistry Advances, 1, p. 100019. doi:10.1016/j.focha.2022.100019.
  • P. G. T. Dilrukshi, Helani Munasinghe, A. Buddhika G. Silva, P. G. S. M. De Silva, "Identification of Synthetic Food Colours in Selected Confectioneries and Beverages in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka", Journal of Food Quality, vol. 2019, Article ID 7453169, 8 pages, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/7453169
  • Miller, M.D., Steinmaus, C., Golub, M.S. et al. Potential impacts of synthetic food dyes on activity and attention in children: a review of the human and animal evidence. Environ Health 21, 45 (2022).https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-022-00849-9
  • https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/is-food-coloring-bad-3561219/
  • Singh, T. et al. (2023) ‘Natural bio-colorant and pigments: Sources and applications in Food Processing’, Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 12, p. 100628. doi:10.1016/j.jafr.2023.100628.
  • https://www.nafdac.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/Files/Resources/Regulations/All_Regulations/Food-Additivies-Regulations-2019.pdf
  • Arnold LE, Lofthouse N, Hurt E. Artificial food colors and attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms: conclusions to dye for. Neurotherapeutics. 2012 Jul;9(3):599-609. doi: 10.1007/s13311-012-0133-x. PMID: 22864801; PMCID: PMC3441937.
  • The information regarding FD&C color additives and their labeling requirements was referenced from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website and the Food Ingredient Facts website. Specifically:
  1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - [Color Additives Questions and Answers for Consumers] (www.fda.gov) [oai_citation:1,Color Additives Questions and Answers for Consumers | FDA] (https://www.fda.gov/food/color-additives-information-consumers/color-additives-questions-and-answers-consumers).
  2. Food Ingredient Facts - [Sources of Food Ingredients: Certified Colors] (www.foodingredientfacts.org) [oai_citation:2,Sources of Food Ingredients: Certified Colors - Food Ingredient Facts] ( https://www.foodingredient facts.org/ facts-on-food-ingredients/sources-of- food-ingredients/certified-colors/).
  • The information regarding the adverse effects of food colorants on children was referenced from the following websites:
  1. UC Berkeley Public Health - [New report shows artificial food coloring causes hyperactivity in some kids](publichealth.berkeley.edu) [oai_citation:1,New report shows artificial food coloring causes hyperactivity in some kids - UC Berkeley Public Health] (https://publichealth.berkeley.edu/news-media/research-highlights/new-report-shows-artificial-food-coloring-causes-hyperactivity-in-some-kids/).
  2. Pediatrics, a publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics - [Food Additives and Child Health](publications.aap.org) [oai_citation:2,Food Additives and Child Health | Pediatrics | American Academy of Pediatrics] (https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/142/2/e20181410/37583/Food-Additives-and-Child-Health).
  • The information regarding the hazardous consequences of food color additives on human health was referenced from PubMed, specifically an article titled "Food Color Additives in Hazardous Consequences of Human Health: An Overview" in "Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry." The article can be found on the PubMed website at [pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) [oai_citation:1,Food Color Additives in Hazardous Consequences of Human Health: An Overview - PubMed] (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36650651/).

References

  • Dey, S. and Nagababu, B.H. (2022) ‘Applications of food color and bio-preservatives in the food and its effect on the human health’, Food Chemistry Advances, 1, p. 100019. doi:10.1016/j.focha.2022.100019.
  • The information regarding FD&C color additives and their labeling requirements was referenced from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website and the Food Ingredient Facts website. Specifically:
  1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - [Color Additives Questions and Answers for Consumers] (www.fda.gov) [oai_citation:1,Color Additives Questions and Answers for Consumers | FDA] (https://www.fda.gov/food/color-additives-information-consumers/color-additives-questions-and-answers-consumers).
  2. Food Ingredient Facts - [Sources of Food Ingredients: Certified Colors] (www.foodingredientfacts.org) [oai_citation:2,Sources of Food Ingredients: Certified Colors - Food Ingredient Facts] ( https://www.foodingredient facts.org/ facts-on-food-ingredients/sources-of- food-ingredients/certified-colors/).
  • The information regarding the adverse effects of food colorants on children was referenced from the following websites:
  1. UC Berkeley Public Health - [New report shows artificial food coloring causes hyperactivity in some kids](publichealth.berkeley.edu) [oai_citation:1,New report shows artificial food coloring causes hyperactivity in some kids - UC Berkeley Public Health] (https://publichealth.berkeley.edu/ news-media/research-highlights/new-report-shows-artificial-food-coloring-causes-hyperactivity-in-some-kids/).
  2. Pediatrics, a publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics - [Food Additives and Child Health](publications.aap.org) [oai_citation:2,Food Additives and Child Health | Pediatrics | American Academy of Pediatrics] (https://publications.aap.org/ pediatrics/ article/142/2/e20181410/37583/ Food-Additives-and-Child-Health).
  • The information regarding the hazardous consequences of food color additives on human health was referenced from PubMed, specifically an article titled "Food Color Additives in Hazardous Consequences of Human Health: An Overview" in "Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry." The article can be found on the PubMed website at [pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) [oai_citation:1,Food Color Additives in Hazardous Consequences of Human Health: An Overview - PubMed] (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov /36650651/).

    I pledge to support safe food colorants for the wellbeing of kids and for a healthier tomorrow.

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      I pledge to support safe food colorants for the wellbeing of children, for a healthier tomorrow.

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