It’s often said that we eat with our eyes first, and colours play a vital role in this experience. The psychological impact of food colour trigger responses in the brain, influencing how we perceive taste, freshness, and even quality. For instance, you could shade junk food green, and it’d probably inspire feelings of freshness. Everything considered, food dyes are invaluable to presentation and appeal. It’s why everyone in the processed food industry, from juice brands to cookie manufacturers, relies on these powerful ingredients to shape consumer loyalty and sales.
Food colours have come a long way and are treated with almost reverence among industry insiders nowadays. But where do they come from? What is the history of food colouring? The story behind synthetic dyes and natural colourants offers a fresh perspective on the evolution of food culture and its journey through time. A key part of this evolution is the ongoing debate of natural vs artificial food colour, as manufacturers continue to weigh the benefits and concerns of each. This blog will trace food colours from their ancient origins right down to their place in the modern world, tackling food dye safety, food colour alternatives, and more.
Ancient Use of Natural Food Colourants
Food colour, or at least the act of colouring food, isn’t something we just discovered. Colour has been used variously to improve food quality, flavour, and nutritional value, going as far back as antiquity in some cases. More broadly, the history of food colour is deeply entwined with culture. Different regions and societies have long associated specific colours with emotions and collective beliefs. This has led to particularly colourful dishes becoming an indelible part of important celebrations!
Early civilisations turned to naturally occurring sources like plants and minerals to enhance their foods’ appearance—grapes, beets, saffron, turmeric, and paprika are some examples. Ancient Greece and Rome were noted for artificially colouring wine, going so far as to appoint inspectors to oversee the process. Over time, colourants (both food-based and inorganic salts) became notorious adulterants, showing up in tea, butter, beer, and more foods in the 18th and 19th centuries. Some additives during this period were outright deadly, with salts like copper chloride and lead acetate widely used despite their known toxicity!
Emergence of Synthetic Food Dyes in the 19th Century
The invention of the first synthetic dye—‘aniline purple’ or ‘mauve’ from coal tar—by English chemist William Perkin in 1856 was a turning point. Soon, numerous other organic dyes replaced toxic inorganic food colourants. While cheese wasn’t being infiltrated by lead anymore, these synthetic food dyes raised new health concerns, necessitating frequent regulatory inquests that we’ll get into below.
Food Dye Safety and Regulation Measures
Opposition to the adulteration pandemic began to form in England in the second half of the 19th century, even as other European countries had taken a stern view towards injurious colour additives decades in advance. The Adulteration of Food and Drink Act of 1869 encouraged food testing, and toxic mineral pigments were eventually removed from food and drinks in the country. The USA responded even later and actually persisted with the overtly toxic colourants whose productions were associated with probable irritants, sensitisers, or carcinogens. And this, despite Perkin’s invention paving the way for less dangerous alternatives. Case in point: Copper sulphate continued to be used to colour pickles and canned vegetables until around 1905.
The 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act was a landmark move for a nation lacking a food safety vision. (The Food, Drug, and Insecticide Administration was established in 1927 to enforce this Act before being renamed to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) three years later.) A provision to certify food dyes was made, even though it was voluntary. But as coal-tar colours spread, the Act provided the base for the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, which made certification mandatory for the aniline-based colourants and gave the government more control over food. In response to this Act, the FDA established labelling provisions and procedures for requesting certification of colour additives and adding new ones to the permitted list.
In the years that followed, regulations became firmer, with specific incidents forcing the FDA to reevaluate the list of colour additives. This led to several coal-tar colours being removed after they were found to be in violation of health and safety. Notably, FD&C Red No 2 was withdrawn due to carcinogenicity links and naphthol yellow was also delisted owing to possible safety risks. Food dye safety simultaneously picked up globally, guided by scientific data and a renewed outlook towards consumer protection.
Transition to Natural Food Colour Alternatives
Food dye safety and artificial food colours’ continuous run-ins with regulatory bodies have brewed distrust among the public. And to substantiate these fears, various modern studies have cast a suspicious lens on their health effects, with names like sunset yellow FCF and tartrazine possibly linked to child hyperactivity and allergic reactions. But despite others claiming they’re safe enough, the damage has been done. And the final nail in the coffin might be the fact that nowadays people are wary of anything artificial, let alone food colours. This has allowed natural food colours (annatto extract, paprika, turmeric, grape skin extract, etc.) obtained from plants, mineral ores, and other such sources to make their presence felt across regions. Some food companies have even switched from synthetic food dyes to natural ones to accommodate stricter labelling laws and facilitate smoother market entry. The stats reflect this reality: The global natural food colours market was valued at USD 1.86 bn in 2023 and is projected to cross USD 2.5 bn by 2028.
All of that is good news, but there are still some challenges with these artificial food colour alternatives. Number one is cost. Natural food colourants aren’t as cheap as the other options since extracting them is complex. However, the advantages of natural food colour—such as being free from synthetic chemicals and offering a cleaner label—are becoming more valued by consumers. Innovations in manufacturing processes could bring about price parity soon. Next, seasonal fluctuations could interrupt production. As for the colours’ properties, they are less stable and could face colour degradation when exposed to light and heat. Thankfully, these issues are minor and don’t affect the overall quality.
Contemporary Developments and Future
The food colour industry is poised for interesting developments. Amidst all the concerns with synthetic food dyes, improvements in natural food colourants could be key to manufacturers’ success. Current research is focused on developing new cost-effective variants that enhance stability while retaining vibrancy. Progress in the field has seen studies and research evaluate extracting pigments from alternative vegetables, fruits, and food byproducts like tea waste. Microbial pigments, in particular, are showing promise and could very well be the future because of their easy scalability and potentially cheaper production costs. The processes involved here offer higher yields, require inexpensive raw materials, are unaffected by seasonal fluctuations, and benefit from easier extraction.
The history of food colouring has been marked by a lot of trial and error. The future, though, will be shaped by clearer laws and changing consumer preferences in the presence of rapid technological progress. Consumers will grow more discerning and make better choices about what they eat. Regulators will push for more changes. Natural colours themselves will evolve. And we could finally find efficient substitutes for artificial colours that were once irreplaceable. What’s definite is the demand for natural food colours will increase in the coming years, so manufacturers must sit up and take note.
An Ongoing Journey
What the history of food colouring reveals is an enduring desire to make food visually appealing. This aesthetic pursuit underpins this fascinating journey, beginning with the ancient use of natural pigments to the advent of synthetic food dyes and the subsequent search for safer alternatives. If there’s anything we’ve learnt over millennia, it’s that innovation, regulation, and consumer awareness will lead to some surprises. Whatever they are, expect food colours that shine not merely due to their appearance but based on their safety and sustainability.
FAQs
The earliest synthetic dyes came from by-products of coal processing, with several later identified as causing severe adverse effects and becoming delisted. FD&C Red No 2 had to be banned due to carcinogenicity links, and naphthol yellow s was also considered a safety risk.
Today’s consumer is especially conscious of their eating habits and the health risks associated with their foods. This trend has impacted artificial colours, as synthetic food additives evoke an image of something undesirable and harmful. People regard chemical compounds manufactured in a lab as unsafe to ingest, and research does show there is some legitimacy to these fears. Thanks to this consumer movement, manufacturers are slowly transitioning to natural colours where possible.
The biggest issue is cost. Natural food colours are pricier due to the complexity of their extraction (innovations could make them more feasible). Availability might be another challenge, as seasonal fluctuations could interrupt production. Other issues manufacturers have to look at are their less-stable nature and the fact that their colour could degrade when exposed to light and heat—but none of this is at the expense of their overall quality.
Natural food colours are generally considered safer than artificial colours, which suffer from bad public perception and studies that have linked them to various adverse effects. In some regions, regulations around natural colours are looser; for instance, the FDA does not subject them to batch certification requirements. What works in natural colours’ favour is that they’re obtained from natural sources rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory properties, thus providing added nutrient benefits.
