Is food coloring made of bugs? Chemists debunk a common fear. Red colored foods, cosmetics, and even clothes have one thing in common: a tiny bug called cochineal.

Artificial food colorings commonly found in processed foods include Blue Dye No. 1, Blue Dye No. 2, Green Dye No. 3, Red Dye No. 3, Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5, and Yellow Dye No. 6.

Candy using food coloring are displayed in a lab at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis., on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) ...