Whenever possible, avoid buying food with artificial colors. Many manufacturers use non-permitted colors or permitted colors beyond the prescribed limits.

Food samples analyzed by National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad showed a wide range of non-permitted colors being used, and permitted colors added to foods, beyond the prescribed limits. Additionally, at a study conducted at Industrial Toxicological Research Centre (ITRC), Lucknow, it was found that 70 percent of the market samples of food and food products contained non-permitted colors.