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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Deepti Hajela

Mmm, that looks yummy! The colors we see make a difference in the food we eat

FDA Red Dye 3 Glance - (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

You know you've said it. We all have. “Mmm, that looks so delicious — I want to try some!” That's because when it comes to what we eat, it's not just a matter of taste.

What foods and drinks look like — the colors we see before the first morsels or sips hit our tastebuds — have mattered to people for millennia. And nowhere has that been more blatant than the American food palate, where the visual spectrum we choose from includes not only the primary colors but artificial ones that nature couldn't even dream up.

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