Is that mithai colour safe? Spotting banned dyes on Diwali sweets

Diwali sweets are meant to look festive: saffron-yellow ladoos, orange jalebi, pink and green barfi. Most of that colour is legal. The problem is the small share that comes from industrial dyes, or from food colours added by guesswork. On 18 October 2026, Uttar Pradesh's food safety department tightened its watch on exactly this. Here is what the rules say, what you can and cannot check at home, and what to do before you buy. It is not legal advice.

🚫 What Uttar Pradesh's FSDA said on 18 October 2026

Hindustan Times reported that the Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration issued guidelines covering sweet shops, restaurants, hotels, bakeries, dhabas, food manufacturers and street vendors. According to that report:

Non-food dyes are prohibited. The department named Rhodamine-B, Metanil Yellow, Butter Yellow, Malachite Green, Auramine, Orange-II and Sudan dyes among prohibited colours. Rhodamine-B, it said, is used to dye textiles and paper.
Permitted colours have limits. Citing the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, it said the general maximum for permitted synthetic colours in certain sweets and confectionery is 100 mg per kg, subject to category-specific provisions.
Weigh it, or skip it. Businesses were told to measure colouring agents on digital weighing scales instead of adding them by estimation, and not to use artificial colours where accurate measurement is not possible.
Buy colour from authorised sources. Shops must check labels and licence details and keep invoices and batch numbers for inspection.
Special watch list. Cotton candy (budhiya ke baal), ice golas, chutneys, tandoori dishes and brightly coloured snacks, with Rhodamine-B specifically prohibited in cotton candy and ice golas.

Myth vs fact: colour on Diwali sweets

Myth	Fact (source)
"Any colour sold as food colour can go in any food."	A colour must be permitted for that food category and within its limit (UP FSDA, citing FSSAI rules).
"More colour just means a richer sweet."	Permitted synthetic colours in certain sweets are generally capped at 100 mg per kg (UP FSDA, citing FSSAI rules).
"Paneer and plain curd sweets can be tinted."	Added colours are prohibited in milk, plain curd, paneer, honey, jaggery, dry fruits and several other foods (UP FSDA list).
"I can test mithai colour with a cotton swab."	FSSAI's DART cotton-swab test is for rhodamine B on ragi and sweet potato, not sweets (DART).

🎨 Colour grid: permitted vs banned

✅ Food colours with FSSAI standards	🚫 Named as prohibited by UP FSDA
Synthetic: tartrazine, sunset yellow FCF, erythrosine, indigo carmine, Ponceau 4R, carmoisine, brilliant blue FCF	Rhodamine-B (a textile and paper dye)
Natural: β-carotene, chlorophyll, caramel, annatto, riboflavin	Metanil Yellow, Butter Yellow, Auramine, Orange-II
Use only where the food category allows, within limits	Malachite Green, Sudan dyes

The left column is from the food colour standards in FSSAI's additives chapter. The right column is the UP FSDA list as reported by Hindustan Times.

🥛 Foods that should not be coloured at all

The UP FSDA list of foods where added colours are prohibited includes milk, plain curd, paneer, fresh fruits, raw vegetables, infant food, natural fruit juice, packaged drinking water, ground spices, tea, coffee, cereals, pulses, flour, plain bread, edible oils, jaggery, honey and dry fruits, and cooked foods such as dal, vegetables, biryani, chutney and French fries. So a bright yellow rasmalai milk or an orange-tinted paneer is a reason to ask questions.

Did you know? There is no reliable home test for mithai colour

FSSAI's DART household tests are useful, but they are food-specific. The cotton-swab check rubs the outer surface of ragi or sweet potato with cotton soaked in water or oil: if the cotton picks up colour, rhodamine B may have been used. A similar check exists for malachite green on green vegetables. DART has no test for colours in sweets, and the acid-based tests in some older guides are not for home kitchens. For silver leaf, which does have a DART check, see our guide to chandi ka varq.

✅ What to check before you buy

The licence. Buy from shops that display their FSSAI licence or registration number.
The look. Be wary of colours that look fluorescent, uneven, or that stain your fingers or the box heavily. This is a reason to ask, not proof.
The kesar. Saffron-coloured sweets should get their colour from real kesar or a permitted colour. DART says artificial saffron releases its colour into water rapidly; real saffron keeps colouring the water slowly for as long as it lasts.
Packaged mithai. Read the ingredient list for the colour's name or INS number.
Report it. Keep the sweet and the bill and contact your state food safety department. For other festive checks on ghee, paneer and khoya, see festive food safety.

If anyone feels unwell after eating sweets, see a doctor straight away rather than testing the food at home.

Bright mithai is fine when the colour is a permitted food colour used within limits, generally 100 mg per kg in certain sweets. Rhodamine-B, Metanil Yellow and other industrial dyes are prohibited. There is no reliable home test for sweets, so buy from licensed shops and report anything that looks wrong.

This article is general information, not medical advice.

Sources

Hindustan Times, 18 October 2026: Biryani to cotton candy, UP FSDA cracks down on banned food colours
FSSAI: Food Additives Regulations, chapter 3, substances added to food (food colour standards)
FSSAI / Eat Right India: DART, Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test

Hero photo: "Jalebi - Howrah 2014-04-14 0216" by Biswarup Ganguly, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0. See Credits.

Questions

Which colours are banned in sweets?

Non-food dyes are not allowed in food at all. Uttar Pradesh's FSDA, in guidance reported on 18 October 2026, named Rhodamine-B, Metanil Yellow, Butter Yellow, Malachite Green, Auramine, Orange-II and Sudan dyes among prohibited colours, and said Rhodamine-B is a textile and paper dye whose use in food is prohibited.

Which food colours are permitted?

FSSAI's additives chapter sets identity and purity standards for food colours, including synthetic colours such as tartrazine, sunset yellow FCF, erythrosine, indigo carmine, Ponceau 4R, carmoisine and brilliant blue FCF, and natural colours such as β-carotene, chlorophyll, caramel, annatto and riboflavin. A colour being on that list does not mean it is allowed in every food: use depends on the food category and its limit.

How much colour can a sweet contain?

UP FSDA, citing the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, said the general maximum for permitted synthetic colours in certain sweets and confectionery is 100 mg per kg, subject to category-specific provisions. It told shops to measure colour on digital weighing scales, and not to use artificial colour if they cannot measure it accurately.

Is there a home test for colour in mithai?

Not a reliable one. FSSAI's DART household tests include a cotton-swab check for rhodamine B on the surface of ragi and sweet potato, and for malachite green on green vegetables, but no test for colours in sweets. Do not try acid-based tests at home. If you suspect a problem, keep the sweet and the bill and contact your state food safety department.

Are naturally coloured sweets always safe?

Natural colours must also be food grade and used as the rules allow, and 'natural' on a sign is not a guarantee. Kesar (saffron) is itself a target for colour adulteration: FSSAI's DART page says artificial saffron made from coloured maize threads releases its colour into water rapidly. Buy from a licensed shop you trust.