Remember that scene in Bridget Jones’s Diary where Mr Darcy says “if you ask me there isn’t enough blue food”? Well I discovered recently that there is a reason for this – BLUE food is not to be trusted! (If you aren’t familier with the movie reference Google “Bridget Jones Cooking Scene”)
I typically don’t stress about things being “organic” and I don’t scour over packets to check for additives, preservatives and colours. So when my cousin bought Cheeky Boy a cupcake with blue icing and asked if he could have it, I didn’t have a problem – though I did restrict him to a smaller piece (he was already a little sugar loaded from earlier in the day). We proceeded to watch in horror as the icing from a small piece of cupcake managed to get everywhere and be absorbed into everything. Fingers, lips, cheeks and chin all blue. I had blue on my arm and even the dog somehow managed to get blue on his white nose.
Thankfully we were sitting outside, however, baby wipes alone could not contain the mess of blue icing and good old soap and water was required. This meant I needed to very carefully manoeuvre him to the bathroom, willing him to not reach out and touch anything – it was very apparent that this was going to stain. Despite much scrubbing, his fingers and face were still blue, but clean enough that contact would not transfer the colour. A hot soak in the bath got rid of the last bits of blue and I put the trauma of blue out of my mind, at least until the next morning’s nappy showed me that the body cannot process blue food dye.
The other day Cheeky Boy got himself a handful of M&M’s, and within seconds his fingers and lips are blue yet again. It was then that I decided you cannot trust any blue food. There is just something completely unnatural about blue food – nothing grows in that colour. Now before I get a million people screaming about blueberries, they aren’t THAT blue, the skin is that blueish-purpleish colour but the flesh is not blue.
Now Nestle claim Smarties have no artificial colours but until someone shows me how they naturally derive the colour for the blue Smarties, I’m calling bullshit.
-Mrs M
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Mum Wife Teacher Nerd 
Yep I totally agree, blue food is not a good idea. This has just confirmed my suspicions.
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When I was a kidlet back in the 80’s you used to be able to buy ice cream at Darrell Lea’s I only bought the blue bubblegum flavour once after my upset stomach my mum refused to either let me get it again….blue food cannot be trusted.
That is hilarious. No good comes from blue food.
I was just reading about colourings today. I must admit I am not as diligent as I used to be. A great reminder
I don’t usually fuss about colourings but blue is just obviously wrong.
Blue food = blue toddler clothing = frustrated napisan fail = stained clothing, forever a reminder that blue is not to be trusted! 🙂
Blue is not a colour that napisan knows how to deal with.
I have to agree. Out with the blue! I steer Miss 3 away from anything blue, I hate the mess and I hate the panic the next day in the umm bathroom.
You raise a good point! Not one I’ve ever thought about in any detail before, but a good point none-the-less.
Nice to meet you (via IBOT)
Leanne @ Deep Fried Fruit
Hehe, I thought of the cooking scene as soon as I read your title. Blue, as fabulous as it looks, is a bugger to remove from clothing.
Good point… I’m on a mission to get my boys to eat better, and my sister suggested to dye the food…. maybe I’ll rethink this!
I’d still try it, maybe not blue.
There are other ways you could dye it. Beetroot juice will make things pink, apparently you can get purple from sweet potato.
You can extract green from leafy veg like spinach.
And it never has an easily distinguishable flavour! Red is always raspberry, brown, chocolate, pink strawberry, green lime, but blue is what? Lemonade sometimes or bubble gum? It’s just weird.