Candy-colored grain. Neon pickles. Wasabi peas. Many popular foods get their eye appeal from artificial dyes. Artificial dyes are exactly what they sound like: synthetic dyes used in foods to make them look appealing to children and adults.
Recently, artificial dyes have become a warmly discussed topic. You may have seen the topic appear in the news or on social media.
Some of what you see can be pretty alarming, so it’s understandable if you wonder if some of your grocery stores can be harmful to your health.
As a registered dietitian, I am here to share facts about artificial food dyes and their potential effects.
What are artificial food dyes?
Artificial food dyes are often derived from petroleum chemicals (1).
Many artificial dyes are approved by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for use in processed foods, gummy vitamins and medicine (1, 2).
Some of the most commonly used artificial food dyes (10) include:
- Red 3 (erythrosine): Cherry red tint.
- Red 40 (Allura Red): Dark red dye.
- Yellow 5 (Tartrazine): Lemon-yellow dye.
- Yellow 6 (sunset yellow): Orange-yellow tint.
- Blue 1 (brilliant blue): A green blue dye.
- Blue 2 (Indigo Carmine): Royal blue color.
- Green 3 (Fixed Green): Grassed green dye.
The FDA recently banned the use of RED 3 in foods, supplements and oral medications, but companies have until January 2027 or 2028 to remove the dye from their products (14).
For now, both FDA and EFSA still approve using Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1 and Blue 2 (12). Some other dyes are approved by one regulatory organ, but not the other. Red 40 is the most widely used food color (3).
These artificial colors could emerge in foods such as (11):
- Breakfast products
- Packed baked goods
- Preserved fruits
- Ice
- Jarred Pickles
- Packed soups
- Popsicles
- Sweets and fruit rubber
- Spices and sauces
- Snacks with cheese maker
- Tasty snacks that aromatized popcorn and chips
- Slushy and frozen drinks
- Sports drinks and soft drinks
- Cake-decorating gels and glaze
Since 2010, foods with certain artificial dyes in Europe carry a warning label that sounds “may have a negative impact on activity and attention in children” (5).
There is not an equivalent labeling system in the United States. This is because there is not enough evidence to consider approved dyes unsafe, according to the FDA (12).
Potential health effects of artificial food dyes
Some studies have raised possible concerns about artificial food dyes. This research suggests that Artificial dyes can affect children’s behavioral health (6).
For example, a 2021 report from California’s Oehha connected artificial dyes to behavioral issues such as hyperactivity in children (7). A review of 2024 of 15 studies suggests that artificial food dyes can damage health. Again, these risks of even greater concern for children (8).
Due to research on their possible behavioral effects, California banned six artificial dyes in public schools in 2024. This was known as California School Food Safety Act. Since then, 11 states have introduced similar legislation prohibiting certain food dyes and additives (15, 16).
The acceptable daily intake of these dyes were set decades ago before the most current research was done (6). Recent studies suggest that Current Acceptable daily intake can be set too high for childrenThere may be more vulnerable to the potential effects of food dyes (6).
In 2018, a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics called for a security review (9). More research is needed to fully understand the possible effect of food dyes.
What does all this mean to you?
In the absence of final research on the possible health effects of artificial dyes, It may be necessary to consider restricting them, especially if you are feeding children, as a caution. Fortunately, this has become easier to do, with many naturally colored foods coming into the market.
If you want to pay attention to artificial food dyes
Here’s what you can do if you want to limit the artificial food dyes in your diet:
- Choose whole foods: Reduce the consumption of ultra-processed foods and focus on a diet rich in healthy, whole foods. This automatically reduces your intake of artificial food dyes with the extra bonus to improve overall health.
- Be informed: Check food labels. Identify dyes in your go-to food and find or make natural alternatives.
- Learn children about healthy diet: Show them how to take food choices. This will help them understand why you may be switching to new choices for some of their snacks.
- Go naturally: Thanks to shoppers asking for it, foods are colored with natural ingredients available in most grocery stores. You can also experiment with natural alternatives to add color and taste to food at home, such as:
- Blue Spirulina (blue)
- Red beet powder (red)
- Turmeric or carrots (orange)
- Saffron (yellow-orange)
- Berries like raspberries and blueberries (pink, blue, purple)
- Red cabbage (blue)
- Matcha or spinach (green)
Each natural dye has slightly different prep methods. You can easily find them online. This is a fun activity for children and they get to see how they can color food without using artificial dyes.
By taking these steps you can help limit artificial dyes to you and your family.
Artificial food dyes are a hot topic for health -conscious consumers. Some people choose to limit the artificial food dyes in their diet because research suggests that these dyes may have unwanted effects, especially for children. More research is needed.
It may not be realistic for you to eliminate artificial dyes from your diet completely. So enjoy your favorite candy, drink or other treats in moderation, whether natural or artificial ingredients. It’s Balance!
The post, what a dietitian wants you to know about artificial dyes, first appeared on the MyFitnessPal blog.