Oct
18
Warning: What You Don’t Know About Food Colors
Artificial food colors, they’re everywhere. Pick up virtually any food or drink item at the grocer and you’d probably see, “Blah, Blah, Blah, FD&C Red No. 40, and FD&C Yellow No. 5″- or something like that. There is one place that I often run into artificial food colorings that catches me off guard- vegan recipes on the web.
Not only are these chemicals toxic, they aren’t vegan. Artificial food colors are tested on animals.
Shocking, right? I know. I wouldn’t have immediately thought of it either, but I looked them all up to get an idea of what they are made of. Guess what? They’re achieved through the wonder of chemistry and the industry of oil drilling. Certainly not something I want on my vegan cupcake, gross.
Artificial colors keep the food sitting in warehouses and on grocery shelves fresh and cheery looking so that we’ll buy it thinking how good and tasty it must be. Perhaps more insidiously, the bright blues, reds, and oranges of candy lure youngsters with promises of tasty delight- an experience and association that persists into adulthood when it’s time to decorate cakes and cookies for the family or work outing….or, Halloween.
Have you ever noticed that the artificial food colorings at the grocery stores always go on sale around holidays? We are constantly bombarded with ways to incorporate these chemicals into our diets. I’ve seen special colorings for drinks, for baked goods, for ice cubes for goodness sake- all in the name of Halloween “fun.” Food colorings don’t add flavor to our food, they actually taste bad. So, is our fun really worth the lives of animals?
To determine the safety of these chemicals as they are used as food additives, they are tested on animals. Of course, these tests do not indicate the substance’s effect on humans, only how much is needed to cause cancer and death in the animals they are administered to.
After the jump I talk about the Seven Deadly Primary Colors and how you can replace them with versions that are 100% all natural, chemical-free, and vegan. Let’s get our cute fun on with compassion for all!
The Seven Deadly Primary Colors are:
#1. FD&C Blue No. 1, Brilliant Blue FCF.
- Tested on animals such as mice, rats, and dogs. Beagle dogs were fed Brilliant Blue FCF in the diet for periods up to 1 year to determine the maximum amount of chemical one could ingest before it caused death.
- Previously banned in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland (among others) but is “certified safe” as a food additive in the EU and the US. It causes allergic reactions in humans, particularly in individuals with pre-existing conditions.
#2. FD&C Blue No. 2 – Indigotine
- Tested on animals such as mice, rats, and dogs. “Accidental ingestion of the material may be harmful; animal experiments indicate that ingestion of less than 150 gram may be fatal or may produce serious damage to the health of the individual.”
- Indigotine is a synthetic replacement for plant-derived indigo, often used as a textile dye. It is also used in capsules as it is accepted for food use- even though it is harmful to eyes, skin, and respiratory tract.
#3. FD&C Green No. 3 – Fast Green FCF
- Tested on animals such as mice, rats, and dogs. Four beagles/group, equally divided by sex, were fed Fast Green FCF at 0, 1.0, or 2.0% of the diet for 2 years to determine it’s effects at high-levels of ingestion. (here’s a hint, it’s many)
- Fast Green is an eye, skin, and lung irritant. It has its very own MSDS. A little scary, right?
#4. FD&C Red No. 40 – Allura Red AC
- Tested on animals such as mice and rats. In one test, rats were impregnated and fed doses of Allura Red AC. On Day 20 (prior to birth) they were examined for gross abnormalities followed by euthanasia. Caesarean sections were then performed to study the fetuses skeletal or soft tissues.
- Red. One of the most prolific artificial colors in candy. Allura Red has been determined to cause behavioural & developmental problems in children. If that wasn’t bad enough, it is a carcinogenic & mutagenic azo dye. That’s right. It causes cancer growth in cells.
#5. FD&C Red No. 3 – Erythrosine
- Tested on animals such as mice and rats. “Chronic studies revealed an increased incidence of thyroid follicular cell hyperplasia and adenomas in male rats that received 4% FD&C Red No.3 in the diet (2464 mg/kg/day) during life-time (30 months) following in utero exposure.” In other words, it gave the rats tumors and initial stages of cancer.
- This artificial red is what is known as a toxic endocrine disruptor. This means it disrupts normal hormone function. Another malevolent azo dye allowed in food.
#6. FD&C Yellow No. 5 – Tartrazine
- Tested on animals such as mice and rats. From one study, “At the end of week 13, all rats were deprived of food, but not water, overnight and then blood samples were collected via the abdominal aorta for hematology and serum biochemistry. Animals were then killed by exsanguination from the abdominal aorta.”
- Yellow No. 5 is an unqualified human health hazard. It’s hard enough to fathom why any artificial color is permitted in regulated food, let alone this toxic mess.
#7. FD&C Yellow No. 6 – Sunset Yellow FCF
- Tested on animals such as mice, rats, and rabbits. Sunset Yellow in petrolatum or in aqueous solutions studied and found not irritant to rabbit skin and was minimally irritant to the rabbit eyes.
- Yet another azo dye. Consumer advocates have petitioned the government to ban this and other artificial colors, citing studies that have concluded that these toxins increase hyperactivity in children.
The seven listed here aren’t the only ones out there. Citrus Red 2 is approved for one use only in food- to color the peel of oranges. That’s a pretty big vegan conundrum, if you ask me, considering that it too, is tested on animals.
So what is a vegan to do? Use natural food colorings found right inside your fridge! Here is a list of colors and vegan, all natural ways to get that perfect color you’re looking for.
| Desired Color | Use |
|---|---|
| Red/Pink | Beet Juice, Cherry Juice, Raspberry Juice, Pomegranate Juice |
| Yellow | Turmeric |
| Purple | Acai Juice, Blueberry Juice, Plum Juice (made from simmering ripe plum skins) |
| Green | Kale, Spinach, Parsley or other green juice. (use sparingly) |
| Blue | Boiled Red Cabbage |
| Brown | Coffee or Tea |
| Orange | Mix red and yellow ingredients together to get shade you want. |
| Black | Swiss Chard Juice (Be aware, it’s super salty and bitter- use sparingly) or a mix of food colors above. |
You can also find decorating sprinkles made with raw sugar and carnauba wax, it just takes a bit of reading in the decorating aisle of your local grocer. If you really want to splurge, Whole Foods carries natural and vegan sugars perfect to top our cupcakes and cookies with. Buyer beware, it costs a small fortune. I usually keep my colors to ones I can make at home with the ingredients listed above. You can too. It’s easy, it’s fun, and it’s better for (you) the animals.
Win=Win.
This post is part of our Halloween Tricks Tips and Treats Series.
I think the point here being made by Francesca is that to not use a product that at one point in time was tested on animals is like saying as a vegan you’re never allowed to have an x-ray because at one point in time it was animal tested! I get that totally but I think Charleen’s point is that FD & FD&C colours are continuously tested on animals today, which does make them not vegan as we know buying something from a company that animal tests isn’t vegan because we are then funding animal tests.
I think the point in this article that is causing the confusion is that it hasn’t been listed anywhere that FD&C colours are STILL being tested on animals.
Whether they are or not, I’m not one to say. It just depends on whether they are still being tested on animals that makes them vegan or not.
I have not used artificial food colors in years, knowing how dangerous they are, and knowing certain ingredients that are found in them. I did not know they were tested on animals, however. For my son’s third birthday, he has been begging for a “Thomas the Train” cake. Knowing I would need to use some sort of coloring, I went on a quest to find safe, natural based colors in a reasonable price range. I stumbled across the website, chocolatecraftkits.com, which carries all natural, plant based colors. I did a dry run of his cake yesterday, and although the colors are more pastel-y, I would much rather have a cake that is pale and safe, than bright and poisoness. From what I can tell, the color did not affect the flavor of my cake (which, by the way, is vegan), and I can feel confident that I’m not feeding my children pointless chemicals that could potentially harm them in the long run.
Francesca,
It’s you who does the picking and choosing. It’s really very simple. Pick and choose those products which do not contain ingredients previously tested on animals. They exsist, they really do. It’s up to you to make the informed choice- not the companies who can freely label their product “vegan” simply because they contain no direct animal products. “Cruelty free” is ambiguous as well. There is no reliable regulation of these terms. It’s not easy being vegan in a world where the vast majority aren’t. It’s not impossible either. There are things out of our control, like hidden ingredients and cruel methods, but the obvious shouldn’t be ignored because of this. You apparently have done some research- use it wisely, not as an excuse to give in. That’s the very least you could do for these animals who suffer because of human betrayal and disregard.
No Charleen, I am not excusing the use of food coloring. I am saying that excluding an ingredient because it at one point was tested on animals is stupid, since many ingredients are tested. If the product was tested years ago and is now included in an item , that doesn’t make the item not vegan. And as you continue to completely ignore, many ingredients in body care products are also tested for safety and those tests are on animal. I gave the example of an ingredient in a VEGAN shampoo. At some point in the past that ingredient was tested on animals. So by your reasoning, that product isn’t vegan. Better go tell those who run Food Fight because I bought it there.
Never mind, you obviously pick and choose to prove your point.
Francesca,
Taking a product that is certainly safe for human use, such as a natural food product, and testing it on animals ‘just to see what happens,’ is completely different than testing an un-natural food product to determine it’s safety as a legal food product.
In other words, if a researcher feeds a ton of wheat gluten to a caged beagle to determine the health effects, that doesn’t make wheat gluten non-vegan.
As for vitamins and B12, they are dietary supplements not required to be tested by the FDA. This means a company who produces them is not legally required to test them and can choose not to- which many do.
You seem to be grasping to excuse or justify the use of artificial food colorings. It’s understandable, many people do that- it’s easier to give up than to steam forward.
So, if I add these artificial food colorings to the ingredients I watch out for–if I avoid foods with FDC # whatever, then this problem is solved, right? Thanks for the heads up.
Carnauba wax is wax obtained from the leaves of the carnauba palm plant. You might be thinking of Carmine which is made from the Cochineal Insect.
Awesome post. Very informative. However, it was my understanding that carnauba wax is made from beetles – which may be of concern to some.
And I assume Charleen means eat natural foods, not artificial ones rather than chemicals. Everything is made of chemicals, manmade or not.
Except no one said all food has been tested. But a lot has. For example, a google search of flax seed oil animal tests pops up animal studies. Does that mean flax seed oil isn’t vegan? What about vitamins? Those are tested on animals. So should we avoid all fortified foods? Skip B12 supplements, which are recommended for vegans? If an item has at one point been tested on animals, does that make it not vegan for the rest of time? That is the question and one no one has bothered to address. And apparently Charleen missed the part where I said an ingredient in a vegan shampoo has at one point been tested on animals. So I am saying that saying something isn’t vegan because it has been tested on animals in the past makes many things not vegan. (Another food item that has been tested on animals is wheat gluten. Go ahead, look it up.)
It is not correct that all foods are or have been tested on animals. Substances that are not foods (such as artificial colors and the like made from non-food items, such as petroleum) are more than likely, tested- only because they’re not really food. Lesson: eat food, not chemicals.
As Tom said, many ingredients have at one point or another been tested on animals, including vitamins. Ingredients in cleaning products and personal care items have also at one point been tested on animals. I looked up one of the ingredients in my nonanimal tested, animal product free Giovanni shampoo and sure enough, it has been used in animal tests. If you are going to say no product containing an ingredient that has been tested on animals at some point is vegan, then very few products are vegan.
I know for me, as well, that REd40 is a migraine trigger. It is also a mood irritant for both myself and my young daughter. I use Wilton or Americolor paste colors often in cake decorating, but still try to use natural alternatives as much as possible also.
Informative article, but aren’t all foods and edible substances tested on animals at some point? When a substance is considered safe, other companies can include them and say they didn’t test on animals, but every substance is or was tested on animals at some point.
What?!? Thanks for the post – I NEVER would have guessed.
Red 40 is one of my migraine triggers so I avoid it for so many reasons – ugh.
Fascinating! I had never really thought much about food colouring (I have a couple tiny bottles languishing in my pantry that I bought years and years ago to colour play dough) but I’m grateful for this list of alternatives. Thanks!
Great write-up! One other thing I might ad is to beware of “natural” food coloring too. I found some natural red food coloring at a health food store once, but it was made with carmine!