June 17, 2025
Are Food Dyes Finally Getting the Boot?
Colorful snacks may be losing their artificial edge as states crack down on synthetic food dyes and federal regulators signal big changes ahead.
Orange B
Flavors + Colors
- Potentially Harmful
Definition
A dye used to color sausage casings
Health Impact
Some people, especially children, may be sensitive to food dyes, and have experienced allergic reactions when consuming them. Artificial food dyes have also been linked to increased behavioral problems in children, especially those with ADHD, because they may cause chemical changes in the brain, inflammation, and depletion of minerals that are important to growth and development.
Sources
- Potential impacts of synthetic food dyes on activity and attention in children: a review of the human and animal evidence
BioMed Central (BMC)
- Artificial Food Colors and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Symptoms: Conclusions to Dye for
US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health
- Color Additives Questions and Answers for Consumers
U.S Food and Drug Administration
- Mechanisms of behavioral, atopic, and other reactions to artificial food colors in children
Pub Med
- Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risk
Center for Science in the Public Interest
- Color Additive Status List
FDA
- Color Additives History
FDA