Do you remember when Heinz came out with an assortment of brightly colored ketchup in the early 2000s? The idea of trying to entice people to consume a product by altering its color has been around for decades. 

But one video of a mother serving an eye-popping drink to her child has sparked a heated debate online. 

In a post on a subreddit dedicated to anything and everything about milk, one Redditor uploaded a viral video that had been making the rounds on social media. 

Dyeing milk for children. Approved?
byu/canadarich inMilk

The video is superimposed with the text "Things I wish I knew as a first time mom" over the 13-second clip. It shows a person off-screen as they drop a generous amount of blue food dye into a gallon of milk. After decorating the container and giving it a solid shake, they then serve a cup of milk to a child. 

In the Reddit post, the user appeared to upload the video in order to encourage the discussion of whether or not it's OK to add dye to milk. The Redditor then added their own personal experience to the post. "As a child I used to LOVE drinking milk all the time, I didn't need it [to be dyed blue]," the original poster noted.  

While adding dyes made specially for human consumption might seem like a harmless way to liven up lunchtime, there are some concerns that you should consider before making a decision. 

In a 2021 study conducted by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, food dyes such as Blue 2 were found to have a detrimental effect on children. "The body of evidence from human studies indicates that synthetic food dyes are associated with adverse neurobehavioral outcomes in children, and that children vary in their sensitivity to synthetic food dyes," the study states. 

It's not clear which food dye the mother in the viral video used, but a food additives expert at the Center for Science in the Public Interest says food dyes may not be worth the trouble. 

"These are not adding any nutrients to the food," Thomas Galligan told The Cool Down. "It's a money-making marketing tool for the food industry."

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The majority of commenters under the Reddit post appeared to have no issue with adding food dye to milk as long as the child enjoyed it. "My mom dyed our milk green on St Patrick's Day and always told us leprechauns did it. She's the best," wrote one user. 

A few users did take exception to the idea. "Why on earth would you do something like that? No it's not approved. It's pointless. Milk is perfect," added another Redditor. 

For anyone concerned over the contents of artificial food dyes, there are alternatives to use that may bring you peace of mind. These alternative food dyes are mainly naturally derived with fewer health concerns.    

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