No it does not, but many food and drink manufacturers color their products because usually human beings are more attracted to colourful objects than they are to drab ones. Manufacturers have taken this natural tendency and further conditioned us to lean more towards the colors that we like.
Fortunately, more and more people are aware of some of the dangers involved in using artificial colors and so they are moving away from products that contain them. This means that food producers have been forced to cater to the demand and produce better quality foods.
Some food colorings have actually been banned because of the negative effects that they have had on some people, particularly children, while others are still allowed. There has been a lot of opposition to this because some of the colorings have been proven to be carcinogens, and therefore, linked to certain types of cancers. The FDA (the Food and Drug Administration) argues that this reaction is only caused if the color is actually injected rather than eaten or drunk, and so still allows them to be used.
While some manufacturers claim that their products only contain natural ingredients and have no artificial colorings, they only have to list the ingredients that they have used in the end product. Any manipulation of a coloring to preserve it, or to give it a particular reaction to the food that it is going to be in, may not be natural at all, but there is no mention of this fact.
It is possible to buy totally natural food colorings, typically from health stores, but these are far more expensive to produce so they are not economically viable for food processors.
The rule of thumb, if you want to stay away from unnatural ingredients, is to read the label; if it sounds like a chemistry lesson, stay away from it.
Fortunately, more and more people are aware of some of the dangers involved in using artificial colors and so they are moving away from products that contain them. This means that food producers have been forced to cater to the demand and produce better quality foods.
Some food colorings have actually been banned because of the negative effects that they have had on some people, particularly children, while others are still allowed. There has been a lot of opposition to this because some of the colorings have been proven to be carcinogens, and therefore, linked to certain types of cancers. The FDA (the Food and Drug Administration) argues that this reaction is only caused if the color is actually injected rather than eaten or drunk, and so still allows them to be used.
While some manufacturers claim that their products only contain natural ingredients and have no artificial colorings, they only have to list the ingredients that they have used in the end product. Any manipulation of a coloring to preserve it, or to give it a particular reaction to the food that it is going to be in, may not be natural at all, but there is no mention of this fact.
It is possible to buy totally natural food colorings, typically from health stores, but these are far more expensive to produce so they are not economically viable for food processors.
The rule of thumb, if you want to stay away from unnatural ingredients, is to read the label; if it sounds like a chemistry lesson, stay away from it.
