Are Food Dyes Actually Harmful?

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If you are someone who loves eating out a lot, especially things like pastries and Chinese food, then chances are that you could be ingesting a whole lot of food dye! So, how safe are food dyes?

Food dyes, or food colouring, are ingredients added during the preparation of a certain dish in order to make the dish look more colourful, delicious and aesthetically appealing.

The bring pink hue of certain cakes, the rich colour of certain pickles, gravies, etc., are all due to the addition of food colouring while preparing the foods.

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Especially these days, with the variety of foods, especially baked good available, people's demand for aesthetically pleasing foods have only gone up and so food dyes are used often.

As we know, food dyes are not natural substances, unless ingredients like turmeric are used to render colour to the food.

So, food dyes are mostly prepared artificially, using certain chemicals.

For this reason, the safety of food dyes have always been questioned.

Let us find out today, if food dyes are actually harmful or not.

What Do Food Dyes Contain?

During the 1800s, food dyes were prepared using coal tar! So, you can imagine how harmful that would be.

In more recent times, food dyes try to use less chemicals, however, they still contain chemicals like erythrosine (red dye), tartrazine (yellow dye), indigo carmine (blue dye) and so on.

These chemicals, although approved by the FDA (Food And Drug Administration), have still known to cause some undesirable symptoms in many people.

For example, certain chemicals present in food dyes have known to cause hyperactivity, skin allergies, etc., especially in pregnant women and young children.

Also, certain food dyes have also been associated with stomach disorders, ulcers and even cancer.

So the bottom line is that, food dyes can definitely cause a number of negative reactions in certain people, although not in everyone.

So, it is better to avoid artificial dyes while preparing foods.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.