Food Dyes: Rainbows and Risks
- FibonacciMD
- 9 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Bright blue popsicles and cherry-red drinks may look fun, but are synthetic food dyes safe? Explore the history, the risks, and recent regulations.
Culinary Medicine
Bright blue popsicles, cherry-red fruit punch, and rainbow-colored cereal – color enhances the appeal of food almost as much as taste and smell. We are so used to these colorful foods that we often do not think about the fact that most of these bright colors come from synthetic dyes.
More than 10% of all US food products contain at least one synthetic dye, but this may be changing. [1] In January of 2025 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that FD&C Red No. 3 will no longer allowed in food.[2] In March, West Virginia passed legislation banning seven food dyes (including Red No. 3) from food and a California law will ban these from schools beginning in 2028.[3,4] Will these laws make our food supply safer, or just less attractive?
History and Regulation of Food Dyes
We have dyed our food for centuries. The Egyptians used dyes as early as 1500 BC. Ancient Romans and Greeks also colored their food to enhance its visual appeal.[5] The first dyes were made from natural plant products and minerals, for example paprika, turmeric, saffron, iron, and copper.[6] In 1856 the first synthetic dye, called mauve or aniline purple, was discovered accidently by a chemist trying to make quinine from coal.[6,7] Today most synthetic dyes are petroleum-based products, produced at a fraction of the cost of making natural dyes.[8]
At the turn of the 20th concern that food dyes were introducing potentially poisonous metals such as lead, arsenic, and mercury into food, and were being used to disguise defective foods, led to federal investigation into the use of dyes.[6] In 1906, the Food and Drugs Act prohibited poisonous dyes and the use of any dye to conceal damaged or inferior foods.
Today the FDA enforces food coloring regulations; they specify which dyes are allowed, the amounts that can be used, and the foods to which they can be added.[6] Each batch of synthetic food dye must be certified to ensure it meets purity and composition specifications before it can be used. These “certified color additives” must be listed on product labels, for example FD&C (Food, Drugs & Cosmetics) Red No. 3.[6] Dyes made from natural sources do not need to be certified but must still be approved for use. On food labels natural dyes can be listed specifically by name, for example beet powder, or more generally as “color,” or “color added.”
Safety Concerns
Claims have been made that synthetic food dyes cause serious health problems. Since the 1970s there have been concerns that they exacerbate Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The current consensus is that these dyes may increase ADHD symptoms, with some children being more sensitive than others.[9,10] Some dyes can also cause food intolerances or allergic reactions - most often mild - but anaphylaxis has been reported.[11]
Cancer is another concern. FD&C Red No. 3 or erythrosine, has been under review for its association with cancer since the 1980s when studies in rats showed that consumption of large amounts of this dye promoted the development of thyroid cancer.[12] In the 1990s, Red No. 3 was banned in cosmetics but it continued to be allowed in foods including candy, cake icings, and maraschino cherries.[13,14] Although there is no evidence that the dye causes cancer in humans, the connection between it and cancer in animals led to its ban by the FDA. Food manufacturers have until 2027 to reformulate their products to remove this additive.[2] With the exception of Red No. 3, there is currently no conclusive evidence that synthetic food dyes cause cancer in animals or humans. However, there has been little research on this topic in the last few decades.
Bottom Line
Although there is little evidence that most synthetic food dyes are a health risk, there is also no reason they need to be in the food supply other than to make foods more attractive. They do not preserve food, prevent food poisoning, or make food more nutritious. Foods that include these dyes are generally highly processed foods that should be limited in our diet. By avoiding these dyes, you will most likely also reduce your consumption of ultra-processed foods. Our natural food supply is vibrant (see photo), and a variety of natural pigments are already used to color our food. For example, extracts from beets and radishes provide a red violet color. Turmeric and saffron are spices that provide a yellow color, and blueberries and grape skins are natural blue dyes. If synthetic dyes are eliminated from the food supply we may miss out on some vivid fun food colors, but we will not be doomed to totally pale cereals and treats.
References
[1] Newman, J, Mollica, A, Fernandez, R. How Prevalent are Dyes in Foods? We Crunched the Numbers. The Wall Street Journal., March 23, 2025.
[2] Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. FD&C Red No. 3. FDA. Published online December 14, 2023.
[3] West Virginia Office of the Governor. Governor Patrick Morrisey Signs Food Dye Legislation into Law. March 24, 2025.
https://governor.wv.gov/article/governor-patrick-morrisey-signs-food-dye-legislation-law. Accessed April 12, 2025.
[4] Moniuszko, S. CBS News. What Artificial Food Dye Bans Mean for Your Health and Your Fridge. March 26, 2025.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/food-dye-ban-red-health/. Accessed April 12, 2025.
[5] Fit for The Soul. The History of Food Dyes: How Colors Came to Your Plate. Published October 31, 2024. https://fitforthesoul.com/what-is-the-history-of-food-dyes/
[6] Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Color Additives in Foods. FDA. Published online July 6, 2023. https://www.fda.gov/food/color-additives-information-consumers/color-additives-foods
[7] Mercal A. The Surprising History of Color Additives in Food - ID Times. id-times.com. Published December 24, 2024. https://id-times.com/cooking/the-surprising-history-of-color-additives-in-food/
[8] Rohrig B. Eating with Your Eyes: The Chemistry of Food Colorings - American Chemical Society. American Chemical Society. Published October 2015. https://www.acs.org/education/chemmatters/past-issues/2015-2016/october-2015/food-colorings.html
[9] 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
[10] Arnold LE, Lofthouse N, Hurt E. Artificial Food Colors and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Symptoms: Conclusions to Dye for. Neurotherapeutics. 2012;9(3):599-609. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-012-0133-x
[11] Feketea G, Tsabouri S. Common food colorants and allergic reactions in children: Myth or reality? Food Chemistry. 2017;230:578-588. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.03.043
[12] Hiasa Y, Ohshima M, Kitahori Y, et al. The Promoting Effects of Food Dyes, Erythrosine (Red 3) and Rose Bengal B (Red 105), on Thyroid Tumors in Partially Thyroidectomized N-Bis(2-hydroxypropyl)- nitrosamine-treated Rats. Japanese Journal of Cancer Research. 1988;79(3):314-319. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1349-7006.1988.tb01593.x
[13] Hopkins A. What is food dye? | Environmental Working Group. www.ewg.org. Published March 27, 2024. https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2024/03/what-food-dye
[14] Center for Science in the Public Interest. Artificial colorings (synthetic food dyes). Center for Science in the Public Interest. Published November 4, 2022. https://www.cspinet.org/article/artificial-colorings-synthetic-food-dyes