No Artificial Food Colors
By
Staten Island, NY Posted: 11/13/2015 1:00:00 AM
Why do so many foods still have artificial colors?
A couple of weeks ago, I did a Google search for "stool color", which led to an article from the Mayo Clinic about what to do if your stool has an odd color.. For the past few day my stool looked turquoise, and frankly, I was a bit worried. I didn't find any answers, but a few days later, I realized that I've been eating Boo Berry cereal, which has a blue color.
If you read the ingredients on a bottle of Gatorade, you'll find that it has water, sugars, salts, flavoring... and "coloring". Coloring? No kidding? You mean it's not really blue?
Athletes have trusted the science behind Gatorade for decades to keep them properly hydrated for peak performance by using a perfect blend of fluids, sugars and electrolytes. Many athletes have a favorite flavor, but does anyone really care what color it is?
Artificial colors are everywhere. Some colors are obvious like colorful breakfast cereals, while others are more subtle, such as adding a bit more yellow to American Cheese or chicken soup, or a bit more brown to chocolate.
Even if some artificial colors were guaranteed to be safe, they're still useless, and in some cases they can cause at least some problems, like my turquoise poop.
Thankfully, some companies are finally removing artificial colors form their products.
Some newer Gatorade flavors don't have artificial colors, so why not get rid of the colors on their older flavors?
I think some companies are afraid that people won't accept foods that don't have a distinct color. I remember when pistachios were always dyed red, and it used to turn your fingers and tongue red when you ate them. The manufacturers felt that the natural look wasn't consistent, so they thought the red color would cover it up. I had no idea that red wasn't the natural color until a few companies started selling them in their natural color. It seemed odd to me at first, but now that just about everyone sells them that way it would seem strange eating red ones.
I think the same thing would happen if other products were sold without artificial colors. They'll seem odd looking at first, but eventually people will prefer them in their natural color.
I'm not saying that all artificial colors should be banned or eliminated. There's still a purpose for things like making decorative party cakes, but for everyday foods, there's no reason to use artificial colors.
Joe Crescenzi, Founder
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