Colors are additives regardless of source
Colors added to foods for the sole purpose of coloring the product are recognized by the Food and Drug Administration as “color additives,” a legally defined term. All color additives must be approved for use by the F.D.A. as a food additive. In the United States, there are seven “certified” color additives, which often are referred to as artificial colors. The colors are made from petroleum and are approved for use following good manufacturing practices in all food and beverage applications. All are identified with the prefix F.D.&C., indicating they are part of F.D.A.’s color certification protocol and are approved for use in foods, drugs and cosmetics, or F.D.&C. This is followed by a number.
All other colors are classified as “exempt from certification,” and often are referred to as “natural” colors. They are obtained from a variety of sources, including plants, minerals, insects and via such traditional food preparation processes as fermentation and caramelization. Though referred to as natural colors, it’s important to note the F.D.A. does not define the term natural as it relates to color, and in fact does not consider any color added to a food product to be natural. The exception is if the color is natural to the product itself, such as coloring strawberry milk with strawberry juice.
