ABSTRACT
Food colours or colourants are used in a variety of edible goods to enhance their looks because consumers value appearance. A variety of additive colorants have traditionally been permitted in safe and healthy amounts to enhance the appearance of food for commercial value. However, people have long been aware of the hazardous consequences of food colours, which has resulted in the enactment of basic laws by government agencies such as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the US Food and Drug Administration, and others. Food colours are notorious for producing genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, and a variety of other harmful health effects. The most serious issue is the careless use of food colouring. This chapter examines the various substituents and authorised colours that can be used in edible items to aid in the usage of dyes and colours in legal quantities. It also examines the health effects of food colours. Regulations adopted by organisations to protect public health have evolved over time. The chapter also goes over the present state of the regulations that must be followed throughout product development. This chapter will also go through the food colour index, which specifies the permissible colours.
