Colourings

Food colouring additives are substances used to enhance or restore the appearance of foods and drinks. They are commonly found in products such as soft drinks, sweets, baked goods, desserts and ready meals, and are often used in ultra-processed foods to improve visual...

In its rush to approve new ‘natural’ food colourings to replace artificial petroleum based dyes (manufacturers are being asked to voluntarily remove these from food and drink as part of the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ campaign), regulators have hit some resistance....

A new natural blue colour, Everzure Galdieria received a ‘positive scientific opinion’ from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in March 2026. The review confirms the safety of blue galdieria extract for use as a food colour additive, positioning the ingredient...

In a paper published in the journal Cardiovascular Toxicity by a team from Mexico, the potential impact of long-term exposure to the white colouring titanium dioxide (E171) in rats led to heart dysfunction and the authors suggest that prolonged exposure to E171 could...