These food colorings are being fast-tracked ahead of the food dye bans.
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Now, all petroleum-based food dyes are on the chopping block.
(Conversely, theremoval of red No.
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3wasnt slated to go into effect until 2027.)
Most people arent familiar with those natural dyes, and the food dye space is admittedly a little confusing.
So, what are these natural dyes and are they a better choice than the existing artificial dyes?
Toxicologists and food safety experts break it down.
Which food dyes are currently approved for use in the U.S.?
What are these new natural food dyes?
Heres a breakdown of what they are and how theyre used.
Calcium phosphate
This ingredient is already in the food supply and is consideredgenerally recognized as safeor GRAS.
This is currently found in some cereals, toothpastes, and pastas.
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Gardenia blue
Gardenia blue is a dark blue-purple dye derived from the gardenia fruit.
It wasauthorized by the FDA in 2021to be used as colorant in multiple foods, he says.
Alan calls butterfly pea flower extract a fun product, noting that its sometimes used in mixed drinks.
It can look blue, but change to a purple tone when acidlike lemon juiceis added, she says.
The flower and parts of the flower have been used as medicinal herbs for some time now.
Why might natural food dyes be a good choice over petroleum-based dyes?
Its important to point out that both natural and synthetic dyes are considered safe by FDA standards.
Petroleum-based dyes have been linked with neurobehavioral effects, Alan says.
The current hypothesis is that natural food dyes will not cause these effects.
However, thats not entirely clear at this point.
3, for example, Rissetto says.
Natural food dyes arent the perfect solution, though.
Its important to point out that both natural and synthetic dyes are considered safe by FDA standards.
Harris has concerns about what natural food dyes may carry with them.
It will be important to carefully study these dyes for purity.
Why do we even need food dyes anyway?
Food dyes dont offer anything from a nutritional perspective, but they play a role in our food system.
We have been using colorants to make foods more appealing and attractive.
Rissetto points out that you dont need to eat foods that contain dyes, whether synthetic or natural.
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