Food coloring Totally Explained

Everything about Food Coloring totally explained

A food coloring is any substance that's added to food or drink to change its color. Food coloring is used both in commercial food production and in domestic cooking. Due to its safety and general availability, food coloring is also used in a variety of non-food applications, for example in home craft projects and educational settings.

Purpose of food coloring

People associate certain colors with certain flavors, and the color of food can influence the perceived flavor, in anything from candy to wine.
For this reason, food manufacturers add dyes to their products. Sometimes the aim is to simulate a color that's perceived by the consumer as natural, such as adding red coloring to glacé cherries (which would otherwise be beige), but sometimes it's for effect, like the green ketchup that Heinz launched in 2000.
While most consumers are aware that foods with bright or unnatural colors (such as the green ketchup mentioned above or children's cereals such as Froot Loops) likely contain food coloring, far fewer people know that seemingly "natural" foods such as oranges and salmon are sometimes also dyed to mask natural variations in color. Color variation in foods throughout the seasons and the effects of processing and storage often make color addition commercially advantageous to maintain the color expected or preferred by the consumer. Some of the primary reasons include:

Offsetting color loss due to light, air, extremes of temperature, moisture, and storage conditions.
Masking natural variations in color.
Enhancing naturally occurring colors.
Providing identity to foods.
Protecting flavors and vitamins from damage by light.
Decorative or artistic purposes such as cake icing

Regulation

Food colorings are tested for safety by various bodies around the world and sometimes different bodies have different views on food color safety. In the United States, FD&C (generally indicates that the FDA has approved the colorant for use in Foods, Drugs and Cosmetics) numbers are given to approved synthetic food dyes that don't exist in nature, while in the European Union, E numbers are used for all additives, both synthetic and natural, that are approved in food applications.
Most other countries have their own regulations and list of food colors which can be used in various applications, including maximum daily intake limits.
Natural colors are not required to be tested by a number of regulatory bodies throughout the world, including the United States FDA.

Natural food dyes

A growing number of natural food dyes are being commercially produced, partly due to consumer concerns surrounding synthetic dyes. Some examples include:

Caramel coloring, made from caramelized sugar, used in cola products and also in cosmetics.

Annatto, a reddish-orange dye made from the seed of the Achiote.

A green dye made from chlorella algae.

Cochineal, a red dye derived from the cochineal insect, Dactylopius coccus.

Beet juice

turmeric

saffron

paprika To ensure reproducibility, the colored components of these substances are often provided in highly purified form, and for increased stability and convenience, they can be formulated in suitable carrier materials (solid and liquid).

Artifical Coloring in United States

Seven dyes were initially approved under the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, but several have been delisted and replacements have been found.

Current seven

In the USA, the following seven artificial colorings are permitted in food (the most common in bold) as of 2007:

FD&C Blue No. 1 - Brilliant Blue FCF, E133 (Blue shade)

FD&C Blue No. 2 - Indigotine, E132 (Dark Blue shade)

FD&C Green No. 3 - Fast Green FCF, E143 (Bluish green shade)

FD&C Red No. 40 - Allura Red AC, E129 (Red shade)

FD&C Red No. 3 - Erythrosine, E127 (Pink shade)

FD&C Yellow No. 5 - Tartrazine, E102 (Yellow shade)

FD&C Yellow No. 6 - Sunset Yellow FCF, E110 (Orange shade)

Delisted

FD&C Red No. 2 - Amaranth (dye)

FD&C Red No. 4

FD&C Orange No. 2‎ was used to color Florida oranges., new studies now point to synthetic preservatives and artificial coloring agents as aggravating ADD & ADHD symptoms, both in those affected by these disorders and in the general population; Older studies were inconclusive quite possibly due to inadequate clinical methods of measuring offending behavior. Parental reports were more accurate indicators of the presence of additives than clinical tests. Several major studies show academic performance increased and disciplinary problems decreased in large non-ADD student populations when artificial ingredients, including artificial colors were eliminated from school food programs.

Norway banned all products containing coal tar and coal tar derivatives in 1978. New legislation lifted this ban in 2001 after EU regulations. As such, many FD&C approved colorings have been banned.

Tartrazine causes hives in less than 0.01% of those exposed to it Further Information

Get more info on 'Food Coloring'.

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