Will Karnataka’s food dye ban alter your chicken manchurian?

Restauranters and bakers in Bengaluru tell us more about the food dye ban order and what are the alternatives

On June 21, the Food Safety and Quality Department of Karnataka issued an order about the use of food colourants and chemical additives. The order was passed after the department analysed almost 40 kebab samples from across the city. The tests in the government-run laboratories revealed that the presence of artificial colours were so high that they were deemed unsafe to eat. Not just kebabs, but the state also cracked down on the use of these colours in pani puri, cotton candy andgobi manchurian. India is cracking down on food safety laws, and for good reason. 

But not all artificial colours are entirely bad or harmful. Joonie Tan, the executive pastry artist at Lavonne tells us, “In our cafe, we use all natural colours, we don’t use any artificial dyes. If we need red, we use strawberries or raspberries.” But for more vibrant cakes and desserts, Joonie says that they use food gels since natural colours have a limited range as it is hard to derive many shades from these sources. Natural colours also tend to be more pastel and not as vibrant as the artificial ones.

The cafe always uses government approved dyes and Joonie explains that there is some misinformation about these products. “One big thing is the amount of these colours you use. Apart from the health reasons, it is also about practicality. The artificial dyes stain a lot. For example, if you use too much of black in a dessert, it may stain your mouth.” she adds. 

What are these colours?

Here is what you should watch out for as a diner, and f you are using colours in home cooking or baking. Some of the artificial colours that have come under microscope are sunset yellow (technical names include Yellow 6 and E110), carmoisine (a deep red dye, also known as azorubine. Its technical names include Red No. 10 and  E122), and rhodamine B (this is a textile dye, but sometimes illegally used in place of red colour).

Different countries have different regulations when it comes to these dyes. For instance, sunset yellow is approved for use in the US, while it needs to come with a warning on the label in the EU. Rhodamine B is banned in India by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Some colours are allowed to be used but only in limited quantities. One such example is tartrazine, the technical name of which is E102 in the EU and Yellow 5 in the US. The problem with the colours is that in large quantities they can be carcinogenic, or can induce stomach problems, or dizziness. Some of them are also not vegan or vegetarian, as they derive the colours from animal sources. 

The main culprits of dye usage are dishes such askebabs,manchurians and candy — anything with bright colours. In our research, most darshinis and street carts did not admit to using any colours in their food. We spoke to over five local bakeries, as well as more high end cafes, most of whom said they use food gels for the vivid colours.