Dye Concentration in Colored Candies in Bojnourd City in 2016

Candy and similar products, although not considered as a complete food, are among high-consumed foods by children, and sometimes by pregnant women. The purpose of this study was to determine the dyes used in candies supplied in Bojnourd City in 2016.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on 90 colored candy samples (saffron, cacao, orange, cherry) randomly collected from different regions of Bojnourd in 2016. The color content of all samples was measured according to National Standard 2634 by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC).

According to the results, 17.7% of the samples had natural color and 82.3% of the candies contained artificial colors. Among samples containing synthetic color, 90.5% of the samples contained approved artificial color, and only 9.5% of the samples had unauthorized artificial color. Sunset Yellow was the most common color used in the candy samples.

The results of this study showed that illegal use of synthetic dyes in food has become widespread, which is a threat to the health of the community; therefore, reducing the consumption of these colors and replacing natural colors with emphasize on their beneficial properties is necessary.