food dye

How to Make Natural Food Dye
ADHD

Do You Use Natural Food Dyes For Your Child's Treats?

Should warning labels be on artificially dyed foods?
by

Should warning labels be on artificially dyed foods? The FDA is trying to decide this following a study showing that those petroleum-based dyes found in everything from cereal to candy can cause behavioral problems like ADHD. If the findings worry you, moms who still want to make a colorful treat for her kids can still feed them the rainbow by using natural food dye, which are made from the colors naturally found in certain foods.

If you want to try out natural coloring, making your own can be half the fun of an afternoon of family cooking! Lil ones will love to experiment with homemade color combinations, which use common kitchen ingredients like red cabbage, beets, turmeric, onion skins, and coffee to impart pretty shades of pink, red, orange, and more.

Store-bought dyes are another great option, especially for decorating baked goods. India Tree Nature's Colors come in a pack of liquid red, yellow, and blue ($19) and can be combined to make other colors, while Nature's Flavors sells many different shades in powder and liquid form ($15 each).

While natural food dyes don't give you those vibrant colors that we're used to from artificial dyes, what better time than Spring and Easter than to experiment with different shades of pastels! What natural food dye tricks do you use?

Source: Flickr User AmberStrocel

Are You Turned Off by Brightly Colored Foods?
Poll

Are You Turned Off by Brightly Colored Foods?

We just received a shockingly colored package of salt water taffy in the mail.
by

We just received a shockingly colored package of salt water taffy in the mail. While I think the candies' vibrantly colored flavors are fun to display, I'm not sure I want to know how any candy got to be that shade of blue or hot pink. How do you feel about foodstuffs with bright coloring?

Artificial Food Dyes Linked to Hyperactivity?
healthy living

Artificial Food Dyes Linked to Hyperactivity?

Fruity Loops, Fruity Pebbles, and other technicolor cereals could be bad for kids, and not just because of the sugar high.
by

Fruity Loops, Fruity Pebbles, and other technicolor cereals could be bad for kids, and not just because of the sugar high. Turns out, the food dyes used to create such candylicious treats could be contributing to childhood hyperactivity and other behavior issues.

Last week, the Center for Science in the Public Interest began urging the Food and Drug Administration to outlaw eight artificial food dyes, citing three decades' worth of studies that suggest the artificial dyes could exacerbate kids' behavioral problems. The FDA, meanwhile, disputes the claim. Here's more:

Over the years, the FDA has consistently disputed the center's assertion. . . Julie Zawisza, an FDA spokeswoman, said Tuesday that color additives undergo safety reviews prior to approval for marketing and that samples of each artificial coloring are tested. She said the agency reviewed one of the studies that the center cites in calling for a ban.

"(We) didn't find a reason to change our conclusions that the ingredients are safe for the general population," Zawisza said.

For more details on the debate and to see what I think, read more