
The old saying goes that we eat with our eyes first. And when it comes to catching our eyes, especially our kids’ eyes, few things work as well as color.
Perhaps this is why Americans today consume five times more synthetic food dye than they did in 1955. Artificial dye is to foods, beverages and cosmetics what Technicolor was to Oz, a burst of manufactured vibrancy that is hard to resist. Synthetic dyes in fact give products an edge: Their brilliant appeal has tremendous influence on our food and drink preferences – this goes especially for children.