Do or Dye: Consumer Indifference to Artificial Food Dyes

Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, the colors of our favorite foods. From candy to condiments, meat to medication, synthetic food dyes are in virtually everything we consume. It is hard to find a single product without a color-number combination in its contents, as the pigments stain not just our foods, but also our cosmetics and textiles. Anything you see most likely contains at least one dye. But the prevalence of these artificial colors leads to concerns. With state and federal agencies pushing for bans on dyes, questions still remain over their safety. Are dyes really that bad? Should we be worried about dyes? What are the impacts of dyes, and are they reversible? Most importantly, though, the larger question lies: do people actually care about artificial food dyes?

Color additives are often used to enhance the appeal of many foods, particularly in snacks and beverages. More often than not, the ingredients list features a synthetic dye. However, many of these artificial chemicals are linked with health risks, including sensitivities, allergies, and worse, cancer. Despite the threat of possibly carcinogenic, or cancer-causing, pigments in our foods, manufacturers seem to have little care for the health of their consumers, consistently coloring their products with bright hues. But even as manufacturers continue to produce their goods with artificial dyes, customers continue to buy them. Many simply do not care whether their food contains Blue 1 or Green 3 – it is just a color. Artificial colorants have become so normalized that many people remain ignorant of the potential dangers of consuming too many of these synthetics. Colors like Red 40 and Yellow 5 are so common in foods, making it nearly impossible to find a product untouched by dyes. With consumers still gravitating toward dyed products and manufacturers still pushing them out, artificial colors will continue to exist on grocery store shelves, even with all their possible risks.

Furthermore, for manufacturers that market their goods as containing “natural dyes,” their customers remain a minority among the larger market. With dyes so prevalent in our foods, many people do not care to check whether their purchase contains artificial colors, let alone uses natural colors instead. Synthetic dyes are cheaper than their natural counterparts, reflecting a more accessible cost. Thus, price-driven consumers naturally chose the unnatural chemicals. When it comes to money, the inexpensive choice usually prevails: manufacturers use cheaper synthetics, and consumers choose the economical goods that include those cheaper synthetics. As questioning natural or artificial colors is not often factored into one’s product selection, the general public stays indifferent to the dyes they are consuming.

People continue to be unconcerned about the dangers of synthetic dyes, even after learning about the risks. After regulations on dye use evolve into outright bans, and policies transition from state legislature to nationwide prohibition, apathy toward artificial colors persists. The federal ban on Red 3, for example, forced manufacturers to eliminate the colorant from all their products by 2027. Designed to reduce potential complications with synthetic dyes, bans such as the one on Red 3 raise awareness of undesirable side effects and work to prevent them. However, in response to growing concerns regarding artificial dyes, social media trends emerge, promoting the overconsumption of synthetic colors rather than warning against their adverse effects. Primarily, the trend of “Red 40 maxxing” went viral, where people intentionally consume excessive amounts of products containing Red 40 in attempts to be humorous. Creators and followers of this trend know about the dangers of artificial dyes, but continue to partake in the meme, seeing the questionable ingredient as a joke rather than a cause for concern. Despite potential hypersensitivities, behavioral changes, and even DNA damage, consumers stay indifferent and choose to enjoy the self-deprecating practice of eating large quantities of bright red foods instead. People are cognizant of the health implications that artificial dyes have on their bodies, but many simply do not care. While such trends pass as satirical and light-hearted, in the digital age of social media, they present a negative influence that fosters little concern toward potentially dangerous synthetic colorants.

Artificial dyes and questions regarding their safety are becoming greater issues, but preventative measures against these colors seem futile. With varying degrees of safety and a multitude of purposes, the dyes make it difficult for consumers to understand what is “bad” and “good,” prompting a lack of care. Furthermore, controlling the use of dyes will not resolve the underlying issues with the pigments. Each colorant has potential adverse effects, and even after banning the ones with the most severe reactions, a new dye will replace them as the next dangerous chemical. Artificial dyes also have too many nuances to be efficiently regulated. Synthetic pigments are found in foods, cosmetics, clothes, and many more products, making it difficult to monitor the difference between a dye used for consumption and a dye used for external means. Similarly, how can state and federal agencies distinguish between a safe and an unsafe artificial dye? With various ways of determining hazard levels for these chemicals, it is too difficult to establish clear “harmless” and “harmful” categories. Other areas of the world even have differing criteria for their health impositions, such as how the United States imposes bans on different colors than Europe. One region allowing a certain dye the other prohibits does not guarantee it to be “better” or “healthier.” Thus, the distinctions between artificial dyes present too many complications to successfully manage them and allow customers to comprehend the risks. Ultimately, measures against synthetic dyes fail to effectively solve the problems regarding their safety and further confuse consumers and their purchases.

Artificial dyes have become common ingredients in our diets, raising questions such as health concerns and proper management. These colorants play a large role in consumer culture, becoming normalized in our food products, offering more affordable product options, and serving as a source of internet humor. But as synthetic dyes pose potential dangers to our bodies and bans seem ineffective, it seems impossible to completely avoid any negative ramifications the colors cause. While removing artificial pigments from our lives is excessive and impractical, being more mindful about our consumption of them is a step in the right direction; after all, moderation is key. With awareness and consideration for the risks of artificial dyes, getting rid of our apathy and indifference toward synthetic colors will enable us to prevent them from forever staining our foods and our health.