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Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

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  1. a dye
    • ex. Some candies have dyes to make them look bright and colorful.
  2. mass-produced
    • ex. Mass-produced cars are built in factories to save time and money.
  3. distinctive
    • ex. The car was easy to see in the parking lot because of its distinctive color.
  4. judge
    • ex. She learned to judge if a fish is fresh by looking at its eyes and skin.
  5. (be) associated with
    • ex. The color red is often associated with love and anger.

Article

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Food is not only about taste. Before we eat or drink, we first see what foods and drinks look like. For more than 100 years, food companies have used synthetic dyes to make mass-produced food look fresh and natural. Some dyes make food look interesting and fun, like bright and neon colors. Companies also use colors to make their products distinctive from other brands.

However, not everyone agrees with using artificial dyes. In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned a certain red dye because it may cause cancer. But people still want colorful food. According to expert Devina Wadhera, color is important because we judge food with our eyes first.

In the past, food companies knew colors were important in selling products. Synthetic dyes make food products look fresh and safe. Later, companies used dyes to make food look fun, especially for children. People also learn to associate food with certain meanings. For example, cake is associated with birthdays, and ice cream is associated with happy times. People link colors with flavors as well, like red for spicy and green for bitter.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Synthetic Dye

  • Do you think food colors affect what you choose to eat? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Why do you think food companies use bright colors for children's food? Discuss.
  • Not everyone agrees with the use of synthetic dyes. What do you think about this? Discuss.

Food Appearance

  • In your opinion, is the appearance of food important? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Imagine that you’re in a restaurant or café. What is the first thing you notice about food? Discuss.
  • Do you think food should look natural, or is it okay to make it more colorful? Why? Discuss.