The truth about food dyes: What really is your plate? | Posted by Mukilan Ar | July, 2025

She went out to attend yesterday’s conference, returned home, and perhaps very tired and smell of sweat. I operated my AC, and went to the refrigerator, hoping to seize some cold water or ice cream … and found some of the fixed organic pollutants of the ice. I did not think twice before drilling.

After finishing eating, she turned off to the back of the cover, to see the details and ingredients, where I found some horrific things.

I found a long list of dyes on the cover – Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1. After seeing this, I started wondering, are all children and people there ate this? Children fight on the colors they love, from the package, not realizing the amount of chemicals they eat, and parents are forced to buy these things for children, because children start throwing anger.

Not only that, whatever you take now, starting with ice cream, milk, grains, meat, energy drinks, etc., most of them contain artistic dyes, regardless of other chemicals. For this article, let’s focus only on coloring dyes. Why do we need dyes, is it necessary, and in what way does our body destroy? Let’s dive soon in this.

The dyes were there for a long time. Old people used natural colors such as curcumin (from turmeric), yellow red (saffron), etc. to different purposes, most of them from food, but they used them to die, hurt some ancient effects, etc., but somehow, chemical dyes replaced these natural dyes and found a way in our food. A recent survey showed that almost all bakery products are dyed. The bakery industry alone contributes to approximately 50 % of the use of all artificial dyes, followed by baked goods by 25 %, 15 % juice and soda, snacks and grains by 10 %, and the rest of the foodstuffs that share the remaining 5 %. We live in a world in which the dyes are almost impossible.

Some of the famous dyes used in the Blue 1 (glossy blue) foodstuffs include, blue 2 (Nile Carmin), green 3 (fast green), red 3 (erythrosin), red 40 (Alara), yellow 5 (tartrazine), yellow 6 (sunset), red citrus 2 and orange b.

However, why do we still have dyes if it is dangerous?

The simple answer is that artificial dyes are cheap, making food look more attractive, and help products on store shelves. For many companies, the cost and voltage to switch to natural colors can be high. So although some dyes come with risks, they are still widely used because they work, and because many consumers do not know enough to demand safer alternatives.

What can food companies do to change from artificial dyes to natural dyes?

Food companies can start turning into natural dyes by investing in ingredients such as beet juice, turmeric, spinach powder or sweet pepper, which can add color without harmful chemicals. Not always easy – natural colors can be less vibrant, more expensive and sometimes less stable during treatment and storage. But with the increasing demand for consumers on cleaner stickers and health products, many companies are already experimenting with change. They just need to balance cost, appearance and exposure while they are transparent about what is in their food.

The various natural ingredients can replace the specified artificial dyes. For example, beet juice or red cabbage extract can stand for RED 40, giving foods red or pink. Turmeric and Annatto are often used instead of yellow 5 or yellow 6, adding warm yellow tones to orange naturally. For blue colors, companies may turn into pearulina or Butterfly Pea, which provides vibrant blues without artificial chemicals. Even the vegetables can come from spinach powder or green chlore tea. Although these natural colors sometimes do not look like their industrial counterparts, they are safer and grow in their popularity.

What can we do as a consumer?

As consumers, the best thing we can do is to see each product on the shelves and read the stickers carefully. If you want to avoid artificial dyes, look for products that use natural colors or simply choose completely unproked foods whenever possible. Supporting transparent brands and adhering to cleaner components can push the industry towards healthier options. Remember that the color of your food not only makes it look good, but it can say a lot about what is inside it. Depending on what we eat helps us control our health, a colored bite at one time.