How Bugs and Beet Juice Could Play Roles in the Race to Replace Artificial Dyes in Food
April 29, 2025 | 1 min to read
In a push to eliminate artificial colors from the U.S. food supply, Abby Tampow is experimenting in her lab to create natural alternatives. On an April afternoon, she meticulously blended black carrot juice with beta-carotene to replicate the synthetic red hue found in a bottled raspberry vinaigrette. This effort reflects the growing consumer demand for clean ingredients and healthier options in food products.
As pressure grows to get artificial colors out of the U.S. food supply, the shift may well start at Abby Tampow’s laboratory desk.
On an April afternoon, the scientist hovered over tiny dishes of red dye, each a slightly different ruby hue. Her task? To match the synthetic shade used for years in a commercial bottled raspberry vinaigrette — but by using only natural ingredients.
“With this red, it needs a little more orange,” Tampow said, mixing a slurry of purplish black carrot juice with a bit of beta-carotene, an orange-red color made from algae.
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