HEALTH AND NUTRITIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF FOOD COLORS

Colour is a vital constituent of food which imparts distinct appearanc e to the food product. Artificial colouring becomes a technological ne cessity as foods tend to lose their natural shade during processing an d storage. Most of the food colours tested in the conventional toxicit y experiments showed toxic effects at a very high level of intake i.e. , 1-5 per cent in the diet. However, such levels of intake are not nor mally encountered. Human studies indicated that food colours, (natural or synthetic) can induce wide range of allergic reactions only in sen sitive or atopic individuals. Most of the foodborne diseases reported are due to the consumption of non-permitted textile colours or abuse o f colours. The Government is pressurised periodically to place a total ban on the use of food colours due to their possible ill effects. It should be realised that surveillance should go hand in hand with legal actions.