A Reddit user took to the r/foodscience subreddit to question the necessity and potential dangers of Red 40 dye in the food industry.
The post is timely, as many major news networks in the United States, including CBS News, have run stories about this dye and the recently banned Red 3 (covered here by CNN). Red 3 was banned in the United States on Jan. 15, 2025. Companies have until Jan. 15, 2027, to remove it from all food production, per the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
But what are synthetic food dyes? They are a group of chemicals derived from petroleum used to color food.
Red 40 is also under investigation by some in the United States. In Europe, the use of Red 40 is more regulated and requires a printed notice on the container, per the European Food Safety Authority. In September 2024, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning a few food dyes from being served in schools, and Red 40 was one of them, Newsweek reported.
These dyes may be more common in foods served to children. One study found that over 40% of children's food products contained these dyes.
Other states are following suit, working to restrict or ban the use of synthetic dyes and preservatives in food. But why are they there in the first place?
One explanation for the perceived need for dyes in food is marketing. As one Reddit user pointed out, color affects a consumer's acceptance of a product. If a purple product is supposed to have a cheesy flavor, that will strike the consumer as odd and undesirable.
The Cool Down spoke to Thomas Galligan, the principal scientist at the nonpartisan Center for Science in the Public Interest, about synthetic dyes. His expertise aligned with the Reddit comment. He said that the dyes are "added to our food exclusively to increase their visual appeal."
One commenter on the Reddit post said that "dangerous is subjective," citing what they believed was minimal research on the negative impacts of food dyes before ultimately agreeing that everything is for visual appeal.
However, it's not fair to say that there isn't enough research on the negative impact of food dyes. Many scientists have studied the risks of synthetic food dyes, as the Center for Science in the Public Interest recounted. For example, in children, these dyes have been found to worsen behavioral problems and reduce attention, per the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.
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One Redditor offered good advice: "Question and be skeptical." We can read nutrition labels and try to avoid synthetic products.
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