Food colourings
Additives that give or boost the colour of foods, purely cosmetic, some synthetic ones being controversial for their effects on children's behaviour.
Colourings (codes E100-E199) change the appearance of foods. They are purely cosmetic: they provide no flavour, no preservation and no nutritional value. Their only function is to make the product more appealing (or to “make up for” a colour lost during processing).
A fresh angle (colourings and children’s hyperactivity): a striking and documented fact, certain synthetic azo dyes (such as tartrazine E102, sunset yellow E110, carmoisine E122…) were associated, in the Southampton study (2007), with an increase in hyperactivity and attention problems in children.
This study had a concrete regulatory impact: in Europe, products containing these colourings must carry a warning: “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children”. A rare negative labelling requirement, a sign of serious concern. Some manufacturers have preferred to remove them.
Natural versus synthetic colourings:
- Natural: curcumin (E100, yellow), beta-carotene (E160, orange), anthocyanins (E163, red/purple), chlorophyll (E140, green), beetroot extract… Generally harmless, sometimes even beneficial
- Synthetic: azo dyes (petroleum derivatives), more stable and vivid, but more controversial
The cosmetic paradox: colourings perfectly illustrate the logic of the “cosmetic” additives of ultra-processing: substances are added with no nutritional benefit, purely to make a (often low-quality) product more desirable. A neon sweet or an electric-blue drink has no equivalent in nature.
In practice: colourings are a marker of ultra-processing: the more a food needs colourings (especially synthetic ones), the less “real” it is. Favour foods whose colour comes from their actual ingredients. Take particular care with products aimed at children (sweets, drinks, brightly coloured cereals).