# Food coloring



## terminatortoo

Can you use food coloring in soap? I have seen on some websites that you can and i have seen where you shouldn't so just wondering what the group thoughts are on this.


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## Hazel

This is just my opinion but I wouldn't recommend it because it can fade or morph. However, you could try it if you're desperate for color. It would allow you to practice coloring and swirling. It's also possible it might not fade or morph. I'd suggest using paprika, turmeric, cocoa, etc if you wanted to play with color.

A little off topic - I can't remember who mentioned this but she said she would mix up a box of white cake mix, separate it into portions and then color with food coloring. You can also do the same thing with pudding. She said she got to practice swirling and her family got dessert. I thought it was a great tip. :grin:


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## Genny

If you ever plan on selling your products in the U.S., you can't use food coloring.  They do tend to fade and come off on washcloths as well.


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## houseofwool

I had picked up some turmeric from the local health food store yesterday along with some paprika and annatto seeds.  I hot processed all of them in some olive oil to use as dyes for CP soap. Imagine my surprise when the yellow on my dishcloth from the turmeric turned a shocking shade of pink when it came in contact with my handmade soap!  



> From Wikipedia:
> 
> Turmeric contains up to 5% essential oils  and up to 5% curcumin, a polyphenol. Curcumin is the active substance  of turmeric and curcumin is known as C.I. 75300, or Natural Yellow 3.  The systematic chemical name is (1_E_,6_E_)-1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione.
> It can exist at least in two tautomeric  forms, keto and enol. The keto form is preferred in solid phase and the  enol form in solution. Curcumin is a pH indicator. In acidic solutions  (pH <7.4) it turns yellow, whereas in basic (pH > 8.6) solutions  it turns bright red.


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## melstan775

houseofwool said:


> I had picked up some turmeric from the local health food store yesterday along with some paprika and annatto seeds.  I hot processed all of them in some olive oil to use as dyes for CP soap. Imagine my surprise when the yellow on my dishcloth from the turmeric turned a shocking shade of pink when it came in contact with my handmade soap!



Hmm, your wiki quote didn't copy, but I was going to highlight it and say, "That is very good to know. Thanks for posting it!


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## houseofwool

I'm thinking of using it with peppermint oil in a swirl so that it looks like candy canes...  The color isn't perfect, but it is a shocking pink/red color.


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## Hazel

Thanks for posting the interesting info about turmeric. I've never had it turn bright red but it was sort of a reddish orange. I'll have to try again and use more to see if it will turn bright red. It would be wonderful if I actually could find something which would be "red" in CP soap.


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## Marilyna

Genny said:


> If you ever plan on selling your products in the U.S., you can't use food coloring.  They do tend to fade and come off on washcloths as well.


 
Genny, I don't mean to question you, but I believe you're mistaken about this because food coloring is FD&C color which by definition means approved for food, drugs & cosmetics.  And many of the commonly sold dyes labeled for soap use are FD&C colors.  

Food coloring can be used in soap, but like others mentioned some of the colors fade and some morph.  Some of them work perfectly fine, such as yellow (I believe it's Yellow #5) and orange (I believe Yellow #6).  The reds that are Red #40 work fine, but any that contain Red #3 will fade terribly, so avoid that like the plague.  Blue #1 will turn purple in CP soap.  Blue #1 will fade if it sits in very intense sunlight for hours.  The common food colors that are Green (forget what numbers those are) will turn a salmon or red color in CP soap.

I've done extensive testing on food colors and the Wilton icing colors.  But I prefer the pigments because they won't bleed, so they're preferred for swirls and layers.  Sometimes I use food colors for a solid color soap.


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## Genny

Marilyna said:


> Genny, I don't mean to question you, but I believe you're mistaken about this because food coloring is FD&C color which by definition means approved for food, drugs & cosmetics.  And many of the commonly sold dyes labeled for soap use are FD&C colors.



I wondered about that when someone else was talking about using food coloring in bath bombs, so when I talked to an FDA officer I asked him about it.  He pointed me to this part of the FDA website and said that food safe does not necessarily mean skin safe.  Plus he reminded me that food coloring is usually made up of many different colors, some of which are FD safe, but not safe for cosmetics.
http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/Colo...sinSpecificProducts/InCosmetics/ucm110032.htm

"Must I match colors with intended use?
Yes. No matter whether a particular color is subject to certification or exempt from certification, U.S. law prohibits its use in cosmetics (or any other FDA-regulated product) unless it is approved specifically for the intended use [FD&C Act, sec. 721(a)(1)(A); 21 U.S.C. 379e(a)(1)(A)]."


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## Marilyna

I've never seen a food coloring that wasn't made up of FD&C colors.


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## Genny

Some of the Wilton colorants contain FD&C colors, but they are not on the Cosmetic Color Additives list of approved cosmetic colorants
http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/Guidan...nProgramVCRP/OnlineRegistration/ucm109084.htm

Like one of the Wilton colorants contains FD&C Blue #2, which is not approved for cosmetics, but is approved for food.  Another one contains FD&C Red #3, which is approved for food, but not cosmetics.  Those are only a couple that I can remember.


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## Marilyna

Okay.  Thanks for that info.  Still, I think the blanket statement that you can't use them in soap you sell isn't quite accurate, since most of the common food colors use Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Blue 1, which are on this approved list.  I mentioned before Red #3 fades, so isn't a good choice anyway.  Can't remember a Wilton color using Blue #2, but I will check before I use any.  

Thanks and hope you don't think I'm being too argumentative, it's not my intent.    Appreciate the good discussion.


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## Marilyna

Here's another good list http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/ColorAdditives/ColorAdditiveInventories/ucm106626.htm


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## Genny

Nope, I don't think you're being argumentive at all.


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## Hazel

How about if we do have a blanket statement of _*"don't*_ use any food colorings at all in soap and body products _*if *_you want to sell them?" Then that way, people who can't be bothered to do the research on what is and isn't approved for use in B&B products won't violate any regulations. I just don't want someone to skim the forum and say "Oh look! I can use food colorings in items I sell" and then use them. Worse yet, this person could tell other people it's okay to use food coloring and there ya go - more people using them, selling their products, telling other people it's okay to use food coloring and so on.

It's unfortunate but not everyone is willing to verify what is approved by the FDA for use in cosmetics.


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## Genny

Hazel said:


> It's unfortunate but not everyone is willing to verify what is approved by the FDA for use in cosmetics.



Yep, it's very important that if you have any questions on what you will be selling, to contact the FDA.  Don't go by what a book says, don't go by what a forum says, don't go by what your supplier says.   Because if you get in trouble with the FDA, it's you that will be held responsible, not anyone else.

The FDA is easy to contact and will get back to you as soon as they can.


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## Marilyna

I'd rather make the blanket statement that people who aren't willing to research what is and isn't allowed shouldn't be selling soaps at all.


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## Hazel

You could make the comment but it's not going to stop someone from reading a little online, making a batch and starting to sell it 2 days later. :roll:

However, I appreciate your blanket statement because it made me laugh.


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## Marilyna

That's very true!


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