How bugs and beet juice could play roles in the race to replace
artificial dyes in food
[April 28, 2025]
By JONEL ALECCIA
ST. LOUIS (AP) — As pressure grows to get artificial colors out of the
U.S. food supply, the shift may well start at Abby Tampow’s laboratory
desk.
On an April afternoon, the scientist hovered over tiny dishes of red
dye, each a slightly different ruby hue. Her task? To match the
synthetic shade used for years in a commercial bottled raspberry
vinaigrette — but by using only natural ingredients.
“With this red, it needs a little more orange,” Tampow said, mixing a
slurry of purplish black carrot juice with a bit of beta-carotene, an
orange-red color made from algae.
Tampow is part of the team at Sensient Technologies Corp., one of the
world’s largest dyemakers, that is rushing to help the salad dressing
manufacturer — along with thousands of other American businesses — meet
demands to overhaul colors used to brighten products from cereals to
sports drinks.
“Most of our customers have decided that this is finally the time when
they’re going to make that switch to a natural color,” said Dave
Gebhardt, Sensient’s senior technical director. He joined a recent tour
of the Sensient Colors factory in a north St. Louis neighborhood.
Last week, U.S. health officials announced plans to persuade food
companies to voluntarily eliminate petroleum-based artificial dyes by
the end of 2026.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called them “poisonous compounds”
that endanger children’s health and development, citing limited evidence
of potential health risks.
The federal push follows a flurry of state laws and a January decision
to ban the artificial dye known as Red 3 — found in cakes, candies and
some medications — because of cancer risks in lab animals. Social media
influencers and ordinary consumers have ramped up calls for artificial
colors to be removed from foods.
A change to natural colors may not be fast
The FDA allows about three dozen color additives, including eight
remaining synthetic dyes. But making the change from the petroleum-based
dyes to colors derived from vegetables, fruits, flowers and even insects
won’t be easy, fast or cheap, said Monica Giusti, an Ohio State
University food color expert.
“Study after study has shown that if all companies were to remove
synthetic colors from their formulations, the supply of the natural
alternatives would not be enough,” Giusti said. “We are not really
ready.”
It can take six months to a year to convert a single product from a
synthetic dye to a natural one. And it could require three to four years
to build up the supply of botanical products necessary for an
industrywide shift, Sensient officials said.
“It’s not like there’s 150 million pounds of beet juice sitting around
waiting on the off chance the whole market may convert,” said Paul
Manning, the company's chief executive. “Tens of millions of pounds of
these products need to be grown, pulled out of the ground, extracted.”
To make natural dyes, Sensient works with farmers and producers around
the world to harvest the raw materials, which typically arrive at the
plant as bulk concentrates. They’re processed and blended into liquids,
granules or powders and then sent to food companies to be added to final
products.
Natural dyes are harder to make and use than artificial colors. They are
less consistent in color, less stable and subject to changes related to
acidity, heat and light, Manning said. Blue is especially difficult.
There aren't many natural sources of the color and those that exist can
be hard to maintain during processing.
Also, a natural color costs about 10 times more to make than the
synthetic version, Manning estimated.
“How do you get that same vividness, that same performance, that same
level of safety in that product as you would in a synthetic product?” he
said. “There’s a lot of complexity associated with that.”
The insects that could make ‘Barbie pink’ naturally
Companies have long used the Red 3 synthetic dye to create what Sensient
officials describe as “the Barbie pink.”
To create that color with a natural source might require the use of
cochineal, an insect about the size of a peppercorn.
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Beet juice is seen on a mixing tank used in the making of coloring
at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing
company, in St. Louis, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff
Roberson)
 The female insects release a vibrant
red pigment, carminic acid, in their bodies and eggs. The bugs live
only on prickly pear cactuses in Peru and elsewhere. About 70,000
cochineal insects are needed to produce 1 kilogram, about 2.2
pounds, of dye.
“It's interesting how the most exotic colors are found in the most
exotic places,” said Norb Norbrega, who travels the world scouting
new hues for Sensient.
Artificial dyes are used widely in U.S. foods. About 1 in 5 food
products in the U.S. contains added colors, whether natural or
synthetic, Manning estimated. Many contain multiple colors.
FDA requires a sample of each batch of synthetic colors to be
submitted for testing and certification. Color additives derived
from plant, animal or mineral sources are exempt, but have been
evaluated by the agency.
Health advocates have long called for the removal of artificial dyes
from foods, citing mixed studies indicating they can cause
neurobehavioral problems, including hyperactivity and attention
issues, in some children.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that the approved dyes
are safe when used according to regulations and that “most children
have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color
additives.”
But critics note that added colors are a key component of
ultraprocessed foods, which account for more than 70% of the U.S.
diet and have been associated with a host of chronic health
problems, including heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
“I am all for getting artificial food dyes out of the food supply,”
said Marion Nestle, a food policy expert. “They are strictly
cosmetic, have no health or safety purpose, are markers of
ultraprocessed foods and may be harmful to some children.”
The cautionary tale of Trix cereal
Color is powerful driver of consumer behavior and changes can
backfire, Giusti noted. In 2016, food giant General Mills removed
artificial dyes from Trix cereal after requests from consumers,
switching to natural sources including turmeric, strawberries and
radishes.
But the cereal lost its neon colors, resulting in more muted hues —
and a consumer backlash. Trix fans said they missed the bright
colors and familiar taste of the cereal. In 2017, the company
switched back.
“When it’s a product you already love, that you’re used to
consuming, and it changes slightly, then it may not really be the
same experience,” Giusti said. “Announcing a regulatory change is
one step, but then the implementation is another thing.”
Kennedy, the health secretary, said U.S. officials have an
“understanding” with food companies to phase out artificial colors.
Industry officials told The Associated Press that there is no formal
agreement.
However, several companies have said they plan to accelerate a shift
to natural colors in some of their products.
PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said most of its products are already
free of artificial colors, and that its Lays and Tostitos brands
will phase them out by the end of this year. He said the company
plans to phase out artificial colors — or at least offer consumers a
natural alternative — over the next few years.
Representatives for General Mills said they’re “committed to
continuing the conversation” with the administration. WK Kellogg
officials said they are reformulating cereals used in the nation’s
school lunch programs to eliminate the artificial dyes and will halt
any new products containing them starting next January.
Sensient officials wouldn’t confirm which companies are seeking help
making the switch, but they said they’re ready for the surge.
“Now that there’s a date, there’s the timeline,” Manning said. “It
certainly requires action.”
___
Dee-Ann Durbin contributed reporting from Detroit.
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