Is Food Coloring Harmful To People?

Food coloring is a type of food additive which can make any baked good look professional and much more fun. Some food colorings are dyes, meaning that they are water soluble, and used in a variety of foods which contain liquids. Lakes have a dye base, but they are designed to disperse in oil as well as water, and they can be used in preparations which lack sufficient moisture to hold dye.

The sources of natural coloring for food include some minerals, along with several members of the insect world. Cochineal red, for example, comes from beetles. Chemists have also developed purely synthetic food coloring, too.

People have been adding color to their food for thousands years. In earlier time, food colorings were commonly made from spices such as turmeric, along with crushed seeds. Acient people added color to food historically for many same reasons that we do today:  to lend a more familiar color to food, to enhance natural colors, and for decorative purposes. Food coloring is especially popular with preserved foods, which tend to turn dull gray. Although these foods are perfectly safe to eat, they don’t look quite right, and food coloring can make them more appetizing.

To know what makes up the colors in food colorings can be very interesting. Some are naturally derived. For instance, green food coloring tends to get its shade from seaweed, and orange food coloring may be made from seeds. Red food coloring, which you might see listed as carmine in manufactured goods may not be so tasty once you hear what it is derived from. It tends to be made from the certain insects. Alternately, you can find red food colors made from beet juice or paprika. Brown food coloring made to impart a caramel color is usually less involved with the insect world and is derived from sugar that has been caramelized.

The above colors are considered “natural”, in that they get color from plants, spices or foods in the natural world. There are a number of “artificial colors”, which may also show up, especially in food coloring for mass-produced foods or cosmetics. Most of these are made from different mineral compounds, and are usually considered safe to consume. Fmoc-L-Tyr(tBu)-OH, also Fmoc-O-tert-Butyl-L-serine(CAS No.:71989-38-3), is a common organic used in food coloring. There are a few artificial food-coloring choices that may be indicated in illness for a small percentage of the population. In fact, this has concerned some nations so much that they have banned the artificial types and will only allow natural food colors to be used.

Researchers have found some health issues related to food coloring. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, two studies in the United Kingdom found a link between Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Orange B, Red 3, and Yellow 6 and behavior problems in children. Researchers say these dyes may be to blame for behavior problems like ADD and ADHD in children as young as toddlers.

Uriah Sweety is the freelance writer for e-commerce website in the chemistry. Guidechem.com is just a place for you to look for some chemicals! Our guidechem provide the most convenient conditions for the international buyers and let these leads benefit all the business people.

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