Which synthetic food dyes in the US are pure, rather than mixtures?

Food colorings can be used as acid dyes, on wool, silk, and other animal fibers. It cannot be used to dye cotton or other cellulose fibers!

actual dyes used in food coloring

Many colorings that are legal for use in foods in one country are banned in another; conversely, those dyes allowed in the latter country may be banned in the former. In the US, the list of legal synthetic food dyes is short:

dye name	F D & C food dye number	Colour Index Name	Colour Index number	European additive number	chemical class
allura red	red dye #40	food red 17	16035	E129	monoazo
brilliant blue FCF	blue #1	acid blue 9; food blue 2	42090	E133	triarylmethane
sunset yellow FCF	yellow #6	acid yellow 6; food yellow 3	15985	E110	monoazo
indigotine or indigo carmine	blue #2	food blue 1	73015	E132
fast green FCF	green#3	food green 3	42053	INS 143	triarylmethane
erythrosine	red #3	acid red 51; food red 14	45430	E127	xanthene
tartrazine	yellow #5	acid yellow 23; food yellow 4	19140	E102	monoazo

All other food colorings in the US, aside from a few natural dyes such as annatto, turmeric (spice), beet extract, and carmine (red insects, used to color yogurt and other foods), are composed of different combinations of the above.

brands of food dyes

Food dye may be purchased in several forms. Many grocery stores in the US sell little sets of four bottles of food coloring; these are not ideal for color mixing, as the blue is too greenish and the red too orangish for it to be possible to mix a good purple. However, they are very readily available.

More colors may be obtained in the form of cake coloring, such as in Wilton cake decorating colors.

KoolAid and similar drink mix products are also good sources of some of the artificial food colors, complete with citric acid to serve as the acid (be sure not to get the kind with sugar added!); see How can I tie dye with Kool-aid or food coloring?

The best all-around source I've seen for food dyes may be The Coloration Station. In addition to the food colorings, the Coloration Station also sells dyes that are safe for use on the skin - D&C colors - so they must be safe for use in dyeing, although they are not considered safe to eat. Note that the "lake" colors are insoluble; you want the non-lake colors, for most dyeing purposes.

Back to list of FAQs

Home Page Hand Dyeing Top Gallery About Dyes How to Dye How to Tie Dye How to Batik Low Water Immersion Dyeing Sources for Supplies Book Reviews Other Galleries Groups FAQs Custom Dyers Forum Q&A blog link here search contact me

Page created: April 3, 2003
Last updated: April 24, 2007
Downloaded: May 11, 2025