Food dye has been at the center of many contentious arguments and claims recently. You might have seen headlines linking it to all sorts of diseases and unwanted behavior. So you are likely asking, is food dye safe? What can happen to my kid if they consume it?

I want to take some time to talk about food dyes and whether or not they’re safe for our children. You’ll understand the health effects of food dyes generally, and about red dye 40 specifically– which is the one you’ve most likely seen information circulating about. 

A lot of what you have seen is probably blown out of proportion. Lots of people on social media take morsels of information and turn them into fear mongering messages that leave parents confused and scared. 

As is so often the case with many hot topics, the truth is usually somewhere in the middle.

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. 

Food dye safety

Food dyes can potentially cause issues for kids who are sensitive to them.

And when I say “cause issues” I do NOT mean cause ADHD, autism, or any other medical condition. 

We have no body of evidence that suggests that. When I say that food dyes may cause issues for kids who are sensitive to them, I’m talking about short-term behavior symptoms, like hyperactivity. 

The good news is that the amount of children who are sensitive to food dyes is small. 

The other good news is that the dose matters. If your child eats one item at a birthday party that has red dye 40 in it, I would absolutely not worry. One (or few incidences) in the diet are likely not going to result in any issues (for children who are not sensitive to dyes; we will touch on those that are sensitive to food dyes later in this post). 

So if we’re wondering is food dye safe?, my answer is that from what we know, it is unlikely to cause issues in most kids/people. However, there is a growing concern about their use and long-term exposure to food dyes. 

The state of California has recently passed a bill that will go into effect by 2027 that will ban the use of certain synthetic food dyes in food served at school. This bill is an attempt to limit the amount of synthetic dyes kids are exposed to, since we currently can’t tell who is going to be sensitive to them and who isn’t.

Check out more information on the California decision and the food dye study review that led them to pass this measure.

Food dye and nutrition

Many of the foods that contain artificial food dyes aren’t really nutritious foods. And, artificial dyes do not contribute any positive nutritional value to foods.

We see food dyes used in packaged snack foods and sweet foods that are pretty devoid of nutritional value. Those are foods we might want to limit in the diet for a number of reasons, not just food dyes. 

So the question may also morph from, “is food dye safe?” to “are foods with food dyes the ones I want to be regularly serving my children?”

If you choose to avoid purchasing them and the foods they’re regularly found in, that’s not a bad choice. It may even be wise from a nutritional perspective. 

Is red dye 40 safe?

In some ways, red dye 40 became the poster child for food dyes. It took the spotlight partially because it’s the most commonly used one. 

Its other names include Allura Red AC, Red 40, Red 40 Lake, FD&C Red no. 40 Aluminium Lake, and FD&C Red no. 40.

If you’re wondering what foods have red dye 40, these are the main categories where you may find red dye:

• fruit juice and some sugar sweetened beverages
• candy
• some packaged snacks
• sauces
• flavored yogurts, pudding, and jello
• some breakfast cereals
• popsicles

If something is colorful and- especially red- and its individual ingredients wouldn’t be that red on their own, then there’s likely some food dye in the mix! Check the label if you’re unsure.

Red dye 40, like all food dyes, doesn’t have any nutritional value in and of itself. It is used to make products brighter or more visually appealing to the consumer. Other than that, it doesn’t really serve much of a purpose. 

Allergy to red dye 40

It is possible to have an allergy to red dye 40! You can technically have an allergy to any ingredient/food dye/chemical. 

But remember, an allergy is an immune-mediated response. It can result in systemic symptoms ranging from mild skin issues to anaphylaxis. 

An allergy to a food dye is different than the behavioral concerns conversation that is most of what we’re talking about when we talk about food dyes in the diet. 

Allergies to red food dye are relatively rare.

“Epidemiologically, the prevalence of color additive-related allergy in adults is estimated to be less than 1% whereas a slightly higher rate is estimated for children (1 to 2%).”

In the case of a food dye allergy, that child would need to avoid that ingredient entirely. 

Exposure to red dye 40

The EPA considers red dye 40 to be in the category of low concern. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization also agree that dietary exposure to the dye is of low concern.

These regulatory bodies use a metric called “acceptable daily intake” or ADI when they’re talking about dietary exposure to certain chemicals.

The ADI of something is the amount that can be consumed daily over a period of time (like a lifetime) without adverse health effects. There are large safety margins built in between estimated dietary exposure and the amount that could become problematic.

To put this into perspective:

“Red Dye 40 has an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 3.2 mg per pound (7 mg per kg) of body weight. This translates to 476 mg for a 150-pound (68-kg) person.

One study showed that Americans ages 2 years and older consumed an average of 0.002 mg of Red Dye 40 per pound (0.004 mg per kg) of body weight per day.

Another study observed that Americans’ intake of Red Dye 40 may be higher, with those ages 2 years and older consuming a daily average of 0.045 mg per pound (0.1 mg per kg) of body weight.” 

These values from these 2 cited studies- although different- are still nowhere near the ADI for red dye 40. 

The WHO recently re-evaluated these ADI numbers and determined there was no cause to revise them as the current values did not present a concern. 

A caveat

I’m not here to be a spokesperson for food dyes. I’m not defending food dyes. In fact, I’m not really even a fan of their use. 

Like I said above, they’re usually present in foods we try to limit in the diet anyway. And they do nothing for us nutritionally. I wish companies didn’t rely on them so much for aesthetic purposes. 

What we know from scientific studies right now is that the levels that we consume food dyes in the diet don’t lead us to sound any alarm bells. 

But, we also need more research. And more research is happening. Food technology is always changing and advancing as fast as society is. Science keeps up through high-quality, large, randomized controlled trials that yield reproducible results. Those take time and intention!

This is a topic I like to earmark and constantly go back to the research to see what, if anything, is changing. 

Red dye 40 and hyperactivity

Let’s zoom in and talk a little bit more about food dye and hyperactivity. Lots of people are claiming food dyes cause hyperactivity. Causation can only be proven through scientific studies. We don’t have those telling us that food dyes cause anything, only that they may exacerbate symptoms in susceptible populations. 

It may be more accurate to say that there is a correlation or an association between the consumption of food dyes- specifically red dye 40- and an uptick in hyperactive behavior in kids who are sensitive to them. 

The Office of Environmental Health Hazards published a risk assessment on neurobehavioral effects of food dye in children and this is what they had to say: 

“Overall, we found a wide disparity in results in the studies we identified, although the
majority of studies reported at least some evidence of an association. In general, we
found that studies that assessed neurobehavioral outcomes using reports from the
children’s parents were more likely to report associations than studies assessing
outcomes based on other methods, especially those using reports from teachers.
Studies using validated questionnaires and studies published more recently were also
more likely to report positive associations. Studies with larger numbers of participants
and studies involving higher doses were more likely to report associations but these
effects were fairly weak and inconsistent.”

Interpreting the data

So, it seems like it’s hard to harvest this data in a manner that’s consistent across the board. It also seems like there may be differences in reporting behaviors based not only on the method of data collection, but also who is reporting. 

That’s not to say we should throw it out. I think this data should make us raise an eyebrow about potential associations between food dye and behavioral changes. But I don’t think it should necessarily make us assume that if our child eats a cherry lollipop, the red food dye is what’s making them bounce off the walls. 

There are always other confounding variables at play that can make it hard to isolate what leads to what. 

For example, red dye 40 would also be found in many sugary foods, so it would be hard to pin any behavioral changes on dyes vs. sugar, vs. something else entirely. 

We can never fully remove all the developmental and environmental factors to say with certainty that a particular ingredient is causing a particular behavior. We may notice an association (which it looks like studies point towards), but only for a particular sensitive population. 

This suspected positive association definitely warrants more studies. 

Should I avoid red dye 40?

To summarize what we talked about above, the amount of red dye 40 we consume in food is not usually going to cause a problem for most people. 

BUT if your child has an allergy or you suspect that your child is one of the small percentage of kids who may be affected negatively by red dye 40, then it makes sense to avoid it. 

But I always want to point out that just because something doesn’t have red dye 40 (or any food dyes) that does not mean it’s a health food, or even healthier at all. 

For example: there are lots of candies on the market that brand themselves as healthy alternatives to other candy because they don’t use food dye.

That’s great if you prefer to avoid food dye, but don’t be fooled by marketing. Products can still be full of added sugar and devoid of other nutrition even if they are “all natural.” 

I’m not saying those products are bad. I purchase some of them regularly and like them a lot! But don’t get tricked into thinking they’re not still candy.

Alternatives to red dye 40

If you’ve been seeing the messages all over the internet and wondering, “is food dye safe?” or you’re wanting to know what the alternatives are, you’ve come to the right…paragraph. 

Dye free food colorings

There are food colorings that don’t use synthetic food dyes and derive their color from real foods. These and these are my favorite safe food colorings, and my kids love these all-natural sprinkles too. 

Dye free cereals

Here is a link to my healthy cereal list with all my top cereal choices! 

Dye free packaged snacks

I’ve compiled an Amazon board full of my favorite, dye-free, nutritious packaged snacks. 

Dye free popsicles

My favorite popsicles are Deebees and Goodpops! 

I’m also a big fan of freezing leftover smoothies in fun molds like this or this and having homemade popsicles on demand!

Remember, you don’t HAVE to go dye free. But oftentimes there are more nutritious products out there anyway that aren’t using red dye 40 or other food synthetic food dyes. It could be an easy swap to do so! 

I know some of these nutritional topics can be so hard to wade through. What’s true? What’s not? What should I really avoid versus who is just trying to scare me or make me buy something?

Thanks for trusting me to be a voice of science-backed reason. I hope this article helped you answer the question, “is food dye safe?” And I hope you can breathe a little easier knowing you’re equipped with information to make the best decisions for your family.