How Much Food Dyes Are in the sodas?

May 16, 2011 |

Fanta, Mello Yello and Big Blue

Perhaps they expect you to pick up Fanta or Mello Yello of the Coca-Cola Company or Big Blue of the Big Red, Inc., from a beverage cooler when you are checking out at a local Walmart store. Your attention may be attracted by the eye-catching ”100% natural flavors” and “Caffeine free” claims  on the front of the Fanta labels. But further reading on the back reveals that the beverage “Contains NO juice.” Beware, all they are high sugar (HFCS, 74 – 80 g per bottle!) and high calorie (270 – 325) “liquid candies.”

Fanta, Mello Yello and Big Blue sodas

U.S. consumption of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) went up 1,000 percent between 1970 and 1990, as reported in 2004 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Recent study showed that cancer cells use fructose to proliferate.

Now let us find out what the labels do not tell: how much food dyes were detected in the popular sodas.

Food Dyes Detected in Fanta, Mello Yello and Big Blue

 a Concentrations were calculated based on  Beer-Lambert Law application to our spectrophotometry studies

As you may expect, all the reviewed drinks are of high foreign additive risk and low nutritional value.

Fanta Strawberry Risk Score, DDRS ~ 32

Foreign additive risk DDFI = 16/8 ~ 2. Nutritional value DDNF = 8/24 ~ 0.3.

Fanta Strawberry Risk Score Diagram

Fanta Orange Risk Score, DDRS ~ 67

Foreign additive risk DDFI = 39/12 ~ 3.2. Nutritional value DDNF = 12/55 ~ 0.2.

Fanta Orange Risk Score Diagram

 What brominated vegetable oil is added for? Well, it gives the beverage turbidity and, in the case if you have missed reading the label, it gives you a false impression that what you drink has something to do with the orange pulp. Multiply toxic effects are what brominated vegetable oil gives you for real (See: Toxic Effects of Brominated Vegetable Oils). See also the previous post for more detail.

Mello Yello Risk Score, DDRS ~ 50

Foreign additive risk DDFI = 19/14 ~ 1.3. Nutritional value DDNF = 14/36 ~ 0.4

Mello Yello Citrus Risk Score Diagram

Big Blue Risk Score, DDRS ~ 40

Foreign additive risk DDFI = 22/8 ~ 2.8. Nutritional value DDNF = 8/32 ~ 0.2

Big Blue Risk Score Diagram

Walmart checkout sodas comparison

As I wrote before, the US beverage manufacturers seem not to spur their imagination too much to come up with a new soft drink brand. Majority of the “different” brands simply is HFCS diluted with water and colored with a variety of the food dyes. What a waste of the water! SmartWater and VitaminWater of the Glaceau are the only healthier alternatives I was able to find at Walmart. Make your informed healthy choice!

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Category: Soft drinks

Comments (3)

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  1. daigoumee says:

    Thanks for an idea, you sparked at thought from a angle I hadn’t given thoguht to yet. Now lets see if I can do something with it.

  2. Jaunita Cos says:

    Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch because I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that.

  3. I am sure you get a lot of kudos for your writing skills but I thought I will drop you a line anyways – keep up the good work