What Is a Certified Color Additive? Reading the Two Halves of the Label

Podcast: The Monégasque Table · MONÉGASQUE

Opublikowano: 2026-10-18

What is a certified color additive, and does edible glitter use them? A certified color is a dye whose every batch the FDA checks before it can be sold. The maker submits a sample; the FDA runs at least 10 analyses — purity, moisture, residual salts, unreacted intermediates, subsidiary colors, and the heavy metals lead, arsenic and mercury — typically in under five working days, and a passing batch is certified. Those are the synthetic FD&C dyes in part 74, titled "Color Additives Subject to Certification." Part 73, "Color Additives Exempt from Certification," holds colors generally from plants, minerals or animals — including mica-based pearlescent pigmen...