Recently, dark-colored cakes in mainland China have stirred up a food safety controversy. Some consumers have reported that after eating black or deep blue cakes, their lips, tongues, and teeth were stained. The warning “It is not recommended to buy dark-colored cakes” quickly trended on Weibo.
According to reports from mainland Chinese media, one netizen mentioned that after purchasing a black cake, they had a mouthful of black residue, and their tongue and teeth were completely discolored.
Many netizens shared similar experiences, noting that after consuming dark-colored cakes, their tongues and teeth showed significant staining. Following the trending topic, some expressed disappointment, saying, “It’s a disaster, I love black and blue cakes the most.” Some netizens also suspected that some low-priced dark-colored cakes may not be made with pure cocoa powder or black chocolate, but rather contain a large amount of synthetic food coloring.
In a viral online video, a person claiming to be a cake maker demonstrated that to turn white cream into pure black requires pouring in almost half a bottle of edible food coloring. Another video showed that a large amount of black edible food coloring was needed to achieve a bright black color.
Professor Fan Zhihong from the College of Food Science and Nutrition Engineering at China Agricultural University stated that black edible food coloring is usually composed of various synthetic colors such as bright blue, carmine, and lemon yellow. The method shown in the viral video of pouring almost half a bottle of coloring at once likely exceeds the regulated limit.
Fan Zhihong explained that edible food coloring has a daily allowable intake amount calculated based on weight per kilogram. The lower a person’s weight, the less total amount they can consume, making it important for children to pay extra attention. Consuming an occasional small piece of dark-colored cake may not necessarily exceed the allowable intake of coloring, however, children who frequently consume large amounts of dark-colored cream cakes may face certain health risks.