Color Me Natural—The Challenge of Replacing Artificial Food Dyes
BY DAVID DESPAIN
Whether or not one agrees with the conclusions of the 2007 Southampton University study—which suggested a link between six food colors and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—the pressure is on for food technologists to replace them with natural colors.
On Wednesday, June 27, a 2012 IFT Annual Meeting session in Las Vegas covered the current challenges surrounding phase-outs of artificial food dyes. The session also offered useful tips on how to incorporate natural colors in food product applications.
Michael McBurney, a nutrition scientist with DSM Nutritional Products, introduced the session by giving a history of the controversy. The perception of a relationship between food dyes and hyperactivity dates back to the 1960s, he said. Regardless of the lack of consensus in the scientific literature, he noted that survey data have found that the perception that food dyes are harmful is only increasing.
Moreover, despite the 2011 FDA Food Advisory Committee’s decision to vote against the need for warning labels, Europe has mandated labeling requirements for foods containing the “Southampton Six” (tartrazine, quinolone yellow, sunset yellow, carmosine, ponceau, and allura red) since July 2010.
Ron Wrolstad of Oregon State University discussed the variety of natural alternatives available for use as food colors: anthocyanins, batalain pigments, and cochineal for red hues; carotenoids for yellow to orange; turmeric and saffron for intense yellow; maillard compounds for caramel; and chlorophyll for green.
Unlike synthetic dyes, however, the natural flavors vary largely in their stability, solubility, and suitability in applications, Wrolstad said. He also said the natural flavors are far from being a “stock commodity” and can be costly.
Cathy Culver of Pepsi-Cola added that food producers and marketers often underestimate cost along with several other factors when considering replacement of synthetic colors with natural ones.
“In a perfect world,” she said, a natural color will be permitted for use in all markets, have no impact on product appearance, have excellent stability, will not change flavor, will not change processing techniques or packaging, and will not change calories.
As for the real world, Culver warns, “I hate to break it to my marketing folks, the cost is always going to go up.”
Culver and Wrolstad published a full review of the issues and challenges for replacement of artificial food colorants in Annual Review of Food Science and Technology (see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22385164).
You would be doing the world a favor by getting rid of synthetic dyes!!! We started eliminating them years ago when I saw what they did to my child and others like him. Our grocery bill did not go up.
Dear David,
I’m glad to see you are aware that the public WANTS to make the change to natural colorings. And the head start the big multinational companies have made over the past few years by improving their products for Europe, should make it easier for them to do the same thing here.
Some recent research that might interest you shows that the natural colors are actually healthy for people; for example, there is research showing that beetroot extract (E162) is effective in “suppressing the development of multi-organ tumors in experimental animals” (Kapadia 2011). You sure can’t say that about Red 40 – it may not be frankly carcinogenic, but that is about the best one can say about it.
Of course there is another thing one can do while thinking about how to replace the artificial colors … one can actually use FOOD. If enough blueberry jelly is used in a blueberry poptart, you don’t need blue 1, red 40, and artificial blueberry flavor (ugh). Blueberries are actually blue. True, it may cost a tad more to use actual FOOD … but the natural food companies have been doing it for years, and your customers will like it.
In case you weren’t there, by the way, the only objection that the FDA Advisory Committee had to the Southampton study – which they called “a robust study” — is that sodium benzoate was included. Therefore, it left open the question of whether the food dyes had to be used with sodium benzoate in order to produce the observed reduction in attention and increase in hyperactive behaviors in normal children. Yes – they were testing NORMAL children. And the amounts of food dye they used were way less than you guys actually use in food products.
Nevertheless, since the food dyes in the real world ARE frequently combined with sodium benzoate in the same product, or in other items in the same meal, the problem is clearly there. Take them both out while you’re at it. You already KNOW that sodium benzoate becomes a carcinogen when combined with acidic components in food. There are better preservatives. And if they cost a bit more? The cost of cancer is much higher. Commercials can educate your consumers.
But if you want some clearer research on dyes alone, take a look at Kamel and El-lethey (2011) – “The Potential Health Hazard of Tartrazine and Levels of Hyperactivity, Anxiety-Like Symptoms, Depression and Anti-social behaviour in Rats” which concludes:
“This study provides sufficient scientific evidence that a causal link truly exists between tartrazine and inflection of hyperactivity, anxiety and depression-like behaviours in rats and points to the hazardous impact of tartrazine on public health.”
Please – do your part for public health — encourage your member companies to get these petrochemical dyes out of the food. And if they can’t use real food ingredients (such a shocking concept?) then use natural colors at least.
Shula Edelkind
Research Information
Feingold Association of the United States
http://www.feingold.org
http://www.FDA-dyes.com
My family has been avoiding products with artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives for almost 20 years. Annatto, turmeric, and beet juice have been used by many manufacturers of foods that I purchase without any abnormal cost difference.
The bottom line is manufacturers have got to stop selling foods with petroleum in them. There is no organ in the human body to process petroleum, and we are seeing the problems manifesting in society by the side effects of ingesting them.
Artificial colors and flavors were a negative impact my two sons’ attentio, behavior, health and overall well-being until I eliminated them from their diet and environment (candles, laundry detergents, air fresheners). My first son, Connor, was uncontrollable and impulsive from age one (first introduction to foods and drinks) through age four (introduced to the Feingold Program). He did not sleep through the night, wet the bed, did not let us photograph him, ran rather than walked, bit, hit, punched and was overall frustrated. My second son, Maclean, only 15 months younger, suffered from chronic ear infections and was given antibiotics. I can say now that my boys have been artificial dye and flavor free on the Feingold Program for the past 11 years we lead healthy, happy, sane lives as a family. I am happy to share my story with anyone interested.
I have a post-masters and am a Learning Disabilities Teacher-Consultant testing children and adults in the Public Schools of New Jersey.
For 35 years my organisation has been assisting parents whose childre are either diagnosed Hyperactive/ ADHD or showing signs of these problems. Clearly not all theses children are affected by the Artificial Colourings and/ or other additives, but enough are. Research in the UK found that out of a group of 357 diagnosed Hyperactive children 89% had a problem with Artificial Colourings. In other Hospital based research[ apart from the Southampton and Isle of Wight Studies] Artificial Colourings were top of the list of culprits. Besides this a vast number of prodicts in the UK do not use Artificial Colourings now due in part to the fact the main largest Supermarkets have been working closely with my organisation for some years. There need to be a change in the USA as well FOR THE CHILDREN’S SAKE.
Sally Bunday MBE, Hyperactive Children’s Support Group
A fundamental issue in this debate is the need to color foods at all, either naturally or with petroleum-based colors. Society is being conditioned to expect processed foods to appear a certain way, even tho flavor is not impacted. Why, for example, does food like boxed macaroni and cheese NEED added color? The purchase will be made based on the packaging, not the appearance of the ingredients inside the sealed packets inside the box. Even my dog’s Cosequin pills contain artificial colors–as if the color (tan) will matter one iota to him or to me!?!
How about food technologists working to put the dyes into packaging and out of the food? Focus on healthy, natural recipe constructs and leave the coloring for the cardboard and plastics we don’t consume.
I think the natural colorants is best for use in soda, foods and milk products.