The first time I heard about red food coloring was at my at-the-time apartment complex’s residents appreciation day event. I was drinking a red beverage. Although I don’t remember what it was, I know it contained red 40 (maybe Hawaiin Punch). Anyways, another resident sat down where I was and started a conversation about the effects of food coloring they experience.

They told me they have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and that food coloring, especially red 40, makes them violently angry. How when consumed, they’d go from cool, calm, and collective to severe violence and anger (to the point that they were a threat to themselves and others). As they told me about their experience, I was shocked. At the time, I was not yet into natural health or clean eating, but I did go home and research the topic. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the person’s name and didn’t stay connected with them. Nonetheless, I am so grateful they took the time to plant that seed – so thank you, whoever you were!

Fast-forward a few years to when I entered my natural health era. I started learning more about artificial food coloring and its effects on the body. Surrounded by like-minded folks on social media, it wasn’t long before I saw posts about food coloring being banned in Europe. However, this isn’t entirely true. The truth is, according to an article published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA):

“As with all food additives, only colours whose safety has been assessed by EFSA can be authorised for use by EU risk managers. With the recent adoption of two opinions on annatto extracts and titanium dioxide, the Authority reached an important milestone, completing the re-evaluation of all food colours authorised before 2009.”

The article discusses how the EFSA re-evaluated 41 food colors by reviewing scientific research. This led to establishing an acceptable daily intake (ADI) for each substance with sufficient information available, not a complete ban on food dye. However, due to these re-evaluations, the EFSA withdrew red azo dye known as Red 2G or Acid Red 1 (E128) from the market in 2007 (1).

Nonetheless, American mainstream sources acknowledge that artificial food coloring derived from petroleum and coal tar has been banned in countries like Norway, Finland, France, Austria, and the United Kingdom (2). Meanwhile, other countries have completely banned artificial food dyes (3).

Then there’s the United States. Although there is no generally recognized as safe (GRAS) provision for color additives they remain in the American food system (4). Interestingly, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has banned some food colorings due to their health risks, yet still rejects proposals to restrict more. The FDA also refuses to require adding information regarding the potential harm of artificial dyes on food labels. With Americans eating five times as much food coloring as we did in 1955 and 90% of food dyes being Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, I thought this was an important topic to cover (5).

Risks of Food Coloring

First and foremost, synthetic food dyes do not have nutritional facts. Why? Well, they have no nutritional value. Aside from food dye’s lack of nutrition, it comes with several risks. As someone who firmly believes in informed consent, I want to ensure everyone is aware of the risks and can make an informed decision based on facts, so let’s get to it.

May Be Linked To Cancer

Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020 (6). According to the National Cancer Institute, between 2017 and 2021, 440.5 out of every 100,000 people were newly diagnosed with cancer, with a mortality rate of 146.0 per 100,000 people between 2018 and 2022 (7). Even worse, food coloring may have some part in these numbers.

In animal studies, rats who consumed Red 3 (Erythrosine) had chronic stimulation of the thyroid through thyroid stimulating hormones (TSH), leading to an increased risk of thyroid tumors (8,9). These discoveries lead to the FDA partially banning Red 3 in 1990 (10). However, after conducting another study with the opposite conclusion, they reversed the ban, claiming Red 3 didn’t directly cause thyroid tumors (11,12). Although Red 3 is still banned for cosmetic use in the U.S., unfortunately, it is used in our food today (13).

According to Eating Well, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Red 40 contain benzidine and 4-aminobiphenyl, which are linked to cancer (14). One study found that Red 3 causes animal cancer, and several other food colorings are carcinogenic. This same study also found that at least four other dyes (Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6) cause hypersensitivity. At the same time, many different food colorings were positive for genotoxicity, which suggests safety concerns are present (15).

May Trigger Hyperactivity (ADHD)

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental disorders, with 8.4% of children and 2.5% of adults struggling with symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity (16). A 2011 news article by CBS discussed petroleum-based dyes like Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Orange B, Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, triggering behavioral disorders like hyperactivity (17). According to Michael Greger M.D. FACLM:

“Years ago I featured a landmark study in my video Are Artificial Colors Bad for You?, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge in perhaps the most prestigious medical journal in the world. It showed that artificial colors increased “inattentiveness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity among young children.” So what happened? Well, the British government said, OK, there’re no health benefits to these dyes, only health risks, so it’s a no-brainer. They mandated that food manufacturers remove most of the artificial food colors from products. In fact, the whole European Union said that if manufacturers want to keep using the dyes, then they have to put a warning label stating: “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” Many international food companies have taken them out of their products in Europe, but continue to use them in the same products here in the U.S. where similar regulations are not currently in place. Why did the U.S. government take steps to get rid of them as well?

The FDA put together a committee that looked at the landmark study and conceded that the food additives may have resulted in changes in behavior, but the “type of treatment effects reported in the study, even though the investigators referred to increases in levels of ‘hyperactivity,’ were not the disruptive excessive hyperactivity behaviors of ADHD but more likely the type of over-activity exhibited occasionally by the general population of preschool and school age children.” A distinguished toxicologist basically responded, “look, low level lead exposure may only shave off a few IQ points off of kids, but just because they’d still fall within a normal range, doesn’t mean it’s OK to expose it to our kids.” And looking back now, the lead in leaded gas may have been causing brain cancer and possibly even urban violence—the aggravated assault rate in cities around the U.S. seemed to closely follow the lead levels in the air (18).”

Nonetheless, studies have confirmed that food coloring does, in fact, play a role in children’s hyperactivity. A meta-analysis that reviewed 15 double-blind placebo-controlled trials concluded that artificial food coloring has neurobehavioral toxicity, meaning they do increase hyperactivity (19). Additionally, one study eliminated food dyes and preservatives for children with ADHD, which showed a decrease in symptoms for 73% of participants (20).

May Influence Children’s Behavior

Although sources claim the evidence regarding a link between food coloring and children’s behavioral changes remains inconclusive, some studies suggest an association between the two. Studies have shown that food coloring can worsen behaviors in some children. More specifically, three British studies found that certain food colorings and even preservatives had negative impacts on the behavior of susceptible children with and without ADHD, which led the European Union to make significant changes in public health (21). According to Michael Greger M.D. FACLM:

“Due to cancer concerns, Red dye #1 was banned in 1961. Red #2 was banned in 1976, and Red #4 was banned soon after. But what about Red No. 3, used today in everything from sausage to maraschino cherries? It was found to cause DNA damage in human liver cells in vitro, comparable to the damage caused by a chemotherapy drug whose whole purpose is to break down DNA, but Red No. 3 was also found to influence children’s behavior over 30 years ago and to interfere with thyroid function over 40 years ago (22).”

A great resource on the risks of food coloring is the 55-page report, Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risks, by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. In this report, they discuss both Yellow 5 alone and mixtures of artificial dyes have caused hyperactivity and other behavioral problems in children and adults with and without a hyperactivity diagnosis (23). One study found Yellow 5 was associated with behavior changes like depression, difficulty sleeping, irritability, and restlessness (24). A scientific publication also noted that although there seem to be considerable differences in sensitivities, most results reported at least some evidence of an association between artificial food coloring and adverse behavioral outcomes in children, with and without pre-existing behavioral disorders (25).

May Cause Allergic Reactions

If you read my article, Should You Consider an Elimination Diet, you know food allergies, sometimes called food hypersensitivities, are severe and potentially life-threatening medical conditions affecting approximately 32 million Americans. This reaction is typically caused by an immune response when your immune system overreacts to a normally harmless food protein (allergen) or an IgE immune response with a nearly immediate reaction time (26). Although it’s said that allergic reactions to food coloring are pretty rare, that doesn’t mean they can’t be deadly. Some synthetic dyes are more likely to cause allergic reactions, such as:

• Carmine (Red 4), also called cochineal extract, is considered a natural food coloring derived from dried bugs (the female cochineal) and has been used in food and cosmetics since the 1500s (27). This raw food coloring has been noted to cause facial swelling, rashes, wheezing, and even anaphylactic shock (28,29,30).
• Alura Red (Red 40) is one of the most commonly used artificial food colorings, often found in candy, cereal, baked goods, drinks, and cosmetics. This synthetic food coloring has been noted to cause hives, facial swelling, and hyperactivity in children (4).
• Tartrazine (Yellow 5) is another artificial food coloring made from petroleum products and is often found in candy, canned vegetables, cheese, ice cream, ketchup, and even hot dogs (31). This artificial food coloring has been noted to cause hives and swelling (32).
• Sunset Yellow (Yellow 6) is also a synthetic food coloring, with reports of hypersensitivity reporting back to 1949. It can be found in gelatin, sausage, cereals, candy, and pharmaceuticals. This artificial food coloring has been noted to cause allergic gastroenteritis, which, in several cases, caused such severe abdominal cramps that the patient required hospitalization (33).
• Brilliant Blue (Blue 1) is another artificial food coloring derived from petroleum triphenylmethane found in beverages, candy, baked goods, and even liquid antibiotics. This artificial food coloring has been noted to cause eczema, hives, puffy eyelids, dry skin, sneezing, reoccurring ear infections, congestion, wheezing, and even anaphylaxis (34).

May Trigger Asthmatic Symptoms

Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that inflames and narrows lung airways, resulting in difficulty breathing (35). Certain food colorings have been associated with triggering asthmatic symptoms (36). According to one source:

“Food chemicals and additives are not typically listed as allergens like the common allergens on a food label. This is because, for most people, these ingredients do not cause an allergic reaction. However, a small number of people may experience that certain food chemicals and additives trigger an allergic reaction and asthma symptoms (37).”

Although some sources claim that food dye allergies are very rare, studies prove they occur. There was a case of severe intractable asthma as a result of Tartrazine (Yellow 5) sensitivity that occurred in 1967 (38). Another study noted Yellow 5 sensitivity most frequently manifests as hives (urticaria) and asthma (39). Interestingly, Yellow 5 is the second most commonly used food coloring, and it is often used to color drug tablets/capsules, as well as many other foods (40,41).

May Cause Genetic Damage

Genotoxicity, sometimes called genetic damage, occurs for various reasons ranging from oxidative lesions (most notably from ionizing radiation), mutations, and even chromosomal alterations/damage (42,43). Chromosomal damage is an increased number of micronucleated cells (44). When small nuclei form due to a lost chromosome or damaged DNA, they are known as micronucleated cells, which typically indicate a genotoxic event has occurred (45).

Several studies have linked food coloring to genotoxicity. One study linked Sunset Yellow (Yellow 6) to genetic damage, suggesting that extensive use of synthetic dyes should be forbidden due to their genotoxic and cytotoxic impacts on living cells (46). Another study had similar findings regarding Red 40, noting it ​​causes colon inflammation and impacts the microbiome of mice (47). A final 5-day study found titanium dioxide nanoparticles induced clastogenicity, genotoxicity, inflammation, and oxidative DNA damage in mice (48).

Tips For Avoiding Food Coloring

• Avoid ingredients with colors or numbers in the name (e.g., Red 40, Blue 2, Brilliant Blue, Yellow 6, Sunset Yellow). Also, be mindful of Carmine (Red 4), Erythrosine (Red 3), Indigo Carmine (Blue 2), Tartrazine (Yellow 5), and Titanium Dioxide.
• Consider organic products, but beware of labels that state “made with organic ingredients,” as they are not 100% organic and may still have food coloring.
• Look for natural names like beet extract or other fruits and vegetables (e.g., carrots, spinach, pumpkin, berries, red cabbage, turmeric powder, saffron powder, paprika).
• Look for terms like “color added” or artificial color” and read the ingredients (food labels MUST include food coloring if it’s used).

If you’re a baker or just like using vibrant colors in your foods, India Tree’s Natural Decorating Color is a great all-natural option that I always have on hand. If you’re looking for whole-food alternatives, you can use the following options:

• Red: Raspberries, beetroot, pomegranate juice, cranberry juice, tomatoes, cherries
• Orange: Pumpkin, carrot juice, sweet potatoes, paprika
• Yellow: Turmeric powder, saffron flowers, butternut squash, mango
• Green: Spinach juice, kale juice, matcha powder, parsley juice, spirulina powder
• Blue: Blueberry juice, blue corn, cornflower, butterfly blue pea, borage
• Purple: Purple potatoes, purple carrots, blackberries, red cabbage
• Brown: Coffee, tea, cocoa powder, cinnamon
• Black: Activated charcoal, chocolate

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