Food Color Laws and Regulations
The Food and Drug Act of 1906 in the United States established a voluntary certification program regulating the addition of colors to our foods in the US.Mandatory certification came with the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) Act of 1938, regulating what color enhancers could be added to not only foods, but also drugs and cosmetics.
In 1960, the laws were further amended to require any color additive be on the Federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved list. And, most recently, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 now requires that any certifiable color additive used in food must be listed in the ingredient statement by its common or usual name.
All new color additives must be tested and proved not to cause harmful effects when consumed, and are approved only by petition to the FDA to be added to the certified list. Once approved, the FDA may still restrict usage to only certain types of foods.
The United Kingdom also regulates food color additives in their territories.
The 27 countries comprising Member States of the European Union Community have also established regulations on color additives to foods with quite an extensive list.
More about Food Coloring and Food Coloring Recipes:
• US Food Color Laws• Food Color Additives
• Food Coloring at Home - Cooking with Food Coloring
• Food Coloring and Health
• Food Coloring History
• Food Coloring Recipes
Food Coloring Photo © 2008 Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, licensed to About.com, Inc.
