Red No. 40. Yellow No. 5. Blue No. 1.
You've seen them at the end of the ingredients list of countless consumables: candy, potato chips, baked goods and even Advil contain food color additives that make what we eat more vibrant, beautiful and supposedly more appealing.
Several years ago, American consumers were buying strangely-colored breads, ketchup, butter, and even French fries just to name a few victims of a short-lived, over-dyed era of fun colored food.
And now the pendulum is swinging the other way. Last week my roommate and I were grocery shopping when we came upon a strange phenomenon: invisible cherry Kool-Aid.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't think the Kool-Aid Man would pack the same punch, so to speak, without his rotund belly filled with bright red liquid. And yet, beyond the original six flavors, after all the gimmicks: color changing Kool-Aid, Kool-Aid bursts, Incrediberry, Solar Strawberry Star Fruit and Man-O-Mango Berry (just to name a few), Kool-Aid is reversing its long-time colored appeal for something a little less noticeable.
Maybe moms will feel their children are healthier if they consume sugary drinks that look like water, or maybe the all-too adorable Kool-Aid mustache has out-worn its welcome. But most likely it's just that the American consumer is so bombarded with artificial coloring that seeing flavored sugar in its natural state is a novelty itself.
Hey, I bought into it. I drank it. It really does taste like cherry. And it really is invisible.
There are some food dyes that have caused problems; Red No. 2 was banned in 1976 after it was found to cause tumors in rats.
But think of the benefits of artificial coloration. It adds enjoyment to foods that would otherwise have no color at all. Can you imagine eating rainbow sherbet that's white? Or having to read the labels on Jolly Ranchers to discern their flavor? And the market would simply bottom-out on jellybeans.
The color of food does more than simply tell the brain ahead of time what flavor food will be (ever bit into something cinnamon thinking it was cherry?), it also warns us of foods we'd be better off not eating (think of mold, and maggots, and things like that.)
One invisible food colorant that's stirring up controversy for just that reason isn't really a food color additive per se. It's carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas that keeps packaged meat looking fresher, longer.
Because carbon monoxide is simply a color stabilizer, not a color additive, the FDA claims it is unnecessary to label meat packaged with carbon monoxide. Although the amount of gas itself is not dangerous, its effect is misleading to consumers who rely on their eyes to judge the freshness of meat.
The gas-treated meat doesn't turn gray even when subject to temperature abuse (that's non-refrigeration temperatures) and has a 28-day shelf life compared to the 10 to 12 day shelf life of untreated meat. The carbon monoxide prevents bacteria from growing on the meat, another visual sign of spoilage used to gauge the age and freshness of meat.
Survey results were released Monday by the Consumer Federation of America stating that 75 percent of the people surveyed were concerned about carbon monoxide packaged meat and over half thought that not labeling the packaging was misleading or deceptive.
The proponents of the gas-treated meat claim that no death or illness can be attributed to the color-preservation methods employed and that other industries color foods to make it more appealing to purchase without being chastised.
For example, oranges in America are colored with Citrus Red No. 2 to give them a bright orange hue. Without the color additive, ripe oranges are naturally a green or yellow color. We are programmed to pick the most aesthetically pleasing foods for consumption. Although the quality and taste of green oranges is no different from those dyed orange, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who'd instinctively pick the green one given a choice.
Don't be fooled; check the labels. I bet you'll be surprised about where color additives show up. I'll be sitting back, enjoying my invisible Kool-Aid.
17 Archives
Gina Beach
