Editing Food coloring (section)

===History===
The addition of colorants to foods is thought to have occurred in Egyptian cities as early as 1500 BC, when candy makers added natural extracts and wine to improve the products' appearance.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author= Meggos, H. |title= Food colours: an international perspective |encyclopedia= The Manufacturing Confectioner |pages= 59–65 |year= 1995 }}</ref> During the [[Middle Ages]], the economy in the European countries was based on agriculture, and the peasants were accustomed to producing their own food locally or trading within the village communities. Under feudalism, aesthetic aspects were not considered, at least not by the vast majority of the generally very poor population.<ref name="Arlt">{{cite web |last= Arlt |first= Ulrike |title= The Legislation of Food Colours in Europe |publisher= The Natural Food Colours Association |date= 29 Apr 2011 |url= http://www.natcol.org/node/19 |access-date= 18 Feb 2014 |archive-date= April 2, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150402174212/http://www.natcol.org/node/19 |url-status= dead }}</ref> This situation changed with urbanization at the beginning of the [[Modern Age]], when trade emerged—especially the import of precious spices and colors. One of the first food laws, created in Augsburg, Germany, in 1531, concerned spices or colorants and required [[saffron]] counterfeiters to be [[Death by burning|burned to death]].<ref name="cook">{{cite journal |last= Cook |first= Jim |title= Colorants Compliance |journal= The World of Food Ingredients |issue= Sept 2013 |pages= 41–43 |issn= 1566-6611 }}<!--|access-date= 18 Feb 2014--></ref>[[Image:13-08-31-wien-redaktionstreffen-EuT-by-Bi-frie-037.jpg|thumb|The orange color of carrots and many other fruits and vegetables arises from carotenoids.]]