How Are Color Additives Regulated?
In 1900, there were about 80 man-made color additives available for use in foods. At that time there were no regulations regarding the purity and uses of these dyes. Legislation enacted since the turn of the century, however, has greatly improved food color additive safety and stimulated improvements in food color technology. The Food and Drug Act of 1906 permitted or “listed” seven man-made color additives for use in foods. The Act also established a voluntary certification program, which was administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); hence man-made color additives became known as “certifiable color additives”. The Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) Act of 1938 made food color additive certification mandatory and transferred the authority for its testing from USDA to FDA. To avoid confusing color additives used in food with those manufactured for other uses, three categories of certifiable color additives were created: • Food, Drug and Cosmetic (FD&C) – Color additiv
