How Safe are Color Additives?
Color additives give the red tint to your fruit punch and the green hue to your mint-flavored toothpaste. They are dyes, pigments, or other substances that can impart color when added or applied to a food, drug, cosmetic, or the human body. They can be found in a range of consumer products—from cough syrup and eyeliner to contact lenses and cereal. So how safe are they? “Color additives are very safe when used properly,” says Linda Katz, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the Office of Cosmetics and Colors in FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). “There is no such thing as absolute safety of any substance. In the case of a new color additive, FDA determines if there is ‘a reasonable certainty of no harm’ under the color additive’s proposed conditions of use.” Here are more facts you should know about color additive safety. FDA regulates color additives used in the United States. This includes those used in food (and dietary supplements), drugs, cosmetics, and medical devic
