A request for natural food coloring ideas in a Reddit post sparked thoughtful suggestions for avoiding the potential health hazards of artificial dyes in home baking.
The post presented a need to respect a family member's concerns.
"I'm on a desperate search for natural vegan food dyes," the Redditor wrote to the r/Baking community. "I'm baking my sister's vegan birthday cake next month, and I want to do a cute design, but she's requested that I don't use any artificial dyes."
The original poster asked, "Does anyone know [of] any brands of food coloring that are all-natural?"
Responses noted that natural and/or plant-based food-coloring sets are available online and at nationwide chains such as Whole Foods Market. Two commenters mentioned the King Arthur Baking Company's natural and plant-based sets (the latter of which is vegan).
Although the post sought dyes that are vegan, wariness around synthetic dyes isn't limited to people with plant-based diets.
Artificial dyes found in commercial food coloring kits — along with many other edible products — are linked to various health risks. For certain dyes, these risks include child behavior impacts and cancer, with the latter supported by long-standing evidence of dyes such as Red No. 3 being carcinogenic to lab animals.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has determined that some synthetic color additives "are safe when they are used in accordance with FDA regulations." Yet consumer health advocates have repeatedly argued that FDA assessments of risk levels have not kept pace with science.
On Jan. 15, however, the FDA announced a Red No. 3 ban, in response to years of scientific findings and pressure from advocacy organizations about this dye that causes cancer in animals. The ban will take effect in 2027.
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Cost 💰 Synthetic dyes that have kept their FDA approved status include Red No. 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3 — but there is continuing pressure to restrict their uses as well.
Even where dyes are approved, there are questions about whether they're worth the risks.
Artificial food dyes are petroleum-derived products without nutritious value, food preservation capabilities, or other important functions, explained Thomas Galligan of the Center for Science in the Public Interest in an interview with The Cool Down.
Such dyes are "added to our food exclusively to increase their visual appeal, to make them look a certain way so that consumers want to buy them," Galligan said.
The Reddit post mentioned that the OP's sister was wary of one recommended food coloring brand because of uncertainty over ingredients. Scanning a product's ingredients for the names of artificial dyes is one way to take precautions about food coloring and eat healthier.
The Redditor said they didn't want to go to the effort of extracting color from natural ingredients, but that was nevertheless an option raised in the comments.
"You can use crushed freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries for pinks and reds," said one.
Another ventured further and suggested using tasty, natural ingredients to add color directly: "You could make a very pretty mosaic of sliced fruit and avoid dyes entirely if you want."
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