There is no such thing as a free lunch: Removing Artificial Food Dyes Will Be Difficult

See How Prevalent Are Dyes in Foods? We Crunched the Numbers by Jesse Newman, Andrew Mollica and Roshan Fernandez of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"A Wall Street Journal analysis of a federal database detailing food and beverage ingredients found that more than one in 10 products contain at least one artificial dye. More than 40% of items with the dyes use three or more"

"The FDA has said the dyes it has approved are safe when used in accordance with agency regulations. The FDA said that most children experience no adverse effects from eating foods with the added colors"

"The U.S. has joined other countries in banning the dye (Red 3) from foods based on studies that linked it to cancer in some animals, though the FDA said Red 3 doesn’t have the same effect in humans. 

Food makers have until early 2027 to strip the dye from their U.S. products"

"Most new product launches today feature natural colors instead of synthetic ones"

"Many well-established American food products still use artificial dyes because it can be difficult and expensive to replicate the same colors naturally"

"Synthetic colors are more closely regulated by the FDA, and can be mass-produced with consistency from one batch to the next. They also have a shelf life of years."

"Colors derived from natural sources can be sensitive to heat, light and changes in acidity. Because their complex supply chains are susceptible to droughts and other happenings, natural dyes cost manufacturers about 10 times more than their artificial equivalents"