Publication:

Awareness of use of artificial colourants in sweets preparation and their harmful effects

Background Colour is the first notable feature of a food and often directly influences the choice of food by increasing the taste threshold, appeal and acceptability.There are natural and few traditional colours but many of the shop keepers, restaurant and processed food manufacturers prefer artificial colours. The sweet manufactures do not realize adverse health effects of colourants. The present study was undertaken to assess the awareness of use of colorants in sweets and its harmful effects among consumers and shopkeepers.

Methods A cross sectional study was conducted. A sample of 96 consumers and 20 shopkeepers across the Kolar town were randomly selected and interviewed to collect information on awareness regarding artificial colourants, permissible limits and their harmful effects by using pre-tested semi structured proforma. Data analyzed by using SPSS statistical software version 22.

Results 16.8% of the consumers did not have the knowledge regarding the artificial colorants. 42.6% of the consumers were aware of the toxic metals in colourants and 46.5% knew the harmful effects. Among shopkeepers only 15% and 10% of them had the awareness regarding the toxic metal present and their harmful effects respectively. Majority (75%) of the shopkeepers knew the permissible limits for usage of colourants. Consumers and shop keepers knew that artificial colorants can cause damage to bladder, Kidney, thyroid, brain, immune system, nerve cell development, hyper activity and genotoxicity.

Conclusions The consumers were aware of artificial colorants, various toxic metals present and their harmful effects. There is a need to increase awareness among shopkeepers regarding presence of toxic metals and their harmful effects.