A party photoshootArtificial dyes are found in thousands of foods — Fruity Pebbles, gummy bears, soda, vitamins, you name it — and some sources estimate their con-sumption has increased 500 percent in the past 50 years. That bag of skittles may be a go-to movie theater snack, but take one look at the label and taste a rainbow of lab-made colors from Red

Is food colouring bad for us?

40 to Yellow 5 to Blue 1. In The FDA has banned specific artificial colors in the past, but plenty remain approved

and on the market. Is it safe to eat all those artificially bright foods just

because they look pretty? Color additives are used for a few

reasons beyond painting Easter eggs. Rainbow hues are pumped into the

foods we eat to offset color lost when food is exposed to light, air, extreme temperatures, moisture, or storage conditions. The additives can enhance naturally occurring colors or add whacky, totally unnatural colors a la royal blue ice-pops (or that horrifying purple ketchup from the turn of the millennium). But it’s not just brightly

tinted red velvet cake or every variety of Kool-Aid that gets the

Crayola treatment. About two billion fresh Florida oranges are dipped in

synthetic dyes to brighten them and provide uniform color, and hot dogs

and sausages often get a squirt of fake color to make them look more

appetizing.If all this pigment business has got you feeling blue, take solace in this: There are natural versions.

Brands like Nature’s Flavors use plant, fruit, and vegetable extracts to color that cupcake frosting or for making those Easter eggs all pretty. A little

heat, some mashing, and some water can create beautiful, intense shades.

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PRODUCT REVIEWS:FOXES PARTY RINGSParty Rings are the all time British party favourite biscuit. Seemingly reserved purely for parties, as the name would suggest, these colourful biscuits are loved by children and adults nationwide.

Created in 1983 by the Foxes biscuit company, these biscuits used a new innovative chemical food dying process which allowed for the bright colours. The biscuits come in five different colour combinations which are orange with white stripes, pink and yellow stripes, pink with white stripes, purple with yellow stripes and yellow with

purple stripes. In the 80s and 90s no party was com-plete without these wonderful biscuits and many children would be filled with excitement with the pure thought of eating these biscuits as they would not generally be able to eat them at home, despite the inexpensive price. The biscuit itself is of a circular shape

and with a hole in the middle which was conveniently big enough to fit a child’s finger. The biscuit is crunchy and sweet similar to a Rich Tea in taste but much hearder. On top of the biscuit was a layer of hard colourful icing which had a shine to it and was extremely fun for children to pick off.

Due to its shape, children invented a game which maximised their intake and fun! This game started with children putting a biscuit on each finger and racing one another to eat all of them. Of course, this general-ly ended up with sore fingers and a full belly! Their popularity amonst children in the 80s and early 90s means that their biggest fans are now in their

Each biscuit contains around 29 calories and 0.9 grams of fat which

equates to 459 calories and 15 grams of fat per 100 grams.

early 20s and at university. The now university generation look back upon their childhood with fondness and could be the reason for the many ‘party ring appreciation groups’ both on social networking sites such as facebook and societies which appreciate good old british confectionary. In the late 1990s the Foxes biscuit company decided to change the biscuits much to the horror of their fans!