# Smurf Doody!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smurf-doody/58364>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 17, 2001, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smurf-doody/58364 "2001-03-17T11:26:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smurf-doody/58364/1 "2001-03-17T11:26:51Z")

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    - Or, “Illegitimate Uses for Food Coloring”:

- Is food coloring digestable? That is, if you ingest enough of a color of it, will whatever comes out of you be the color of the food coloring? -I have seen a fairly indecent share of smut on the net, and can’t recall seeing any colors except the usual brown and the occasional yellow. (guest question)
- Will you turn the color of the food coloring? Did any of the test animals turn colors? -Before they got cancer, I mean.
- For the benefit of Cecil’s legal council, perhaps I should also ask if large amounts of food coloring are toxic in any way, and what the signs of toxicity would be. - MC

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**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smurf-doody/58364/2 "2001-03-17T11:42:04Z")

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Yes, it can be toxic, but only in massive doses – there was some news a year or so ago about the danger of Indian restaurants using too much cochineal to make garishly red chicken tikka sauces:

[http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/bulletin/no122/colours.htm](http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/bulletin/no122/colours.htm)  
[http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/fsainfsheet/2000/no3/3colour.htm](http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/fsainfsheet/2000/no3/3colour.htm)

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**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smurf-doody/58364/3 "2001-03-17T18:53:39Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by MC \*  
> \*\* - Is food coloring digestable? That is, if you ingest enough of a color of it, will whatever comes out of you be the color of the food coloring? \*\*

Yeah food coloring will color…um…used up food. Eat a bunch of blueberry Jelly Belly™ jellybeans, and wait about a day. I mean alot. More than an adult would really want to.

Science through child-rearing.

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**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smurf-doody/58364/4 "2001-03-17T19:19:02Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by MC \*  
> **Is food coloring digestable? That is, if you ingest enough of a color of it, will whatever comes out of you be the color of the food coloring? -I have seen a fairly indecent share of smut on the net, and can’t recall seeing any colors except the usual brown and the occasional yellow. (guest question)**

The occasional yellow?

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**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smurf-doody/58364/5 "2001-03-17T21:27:13Z")

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    - Look, I don’t know _how_ it got yellow. It just was - a very light brown/yellow. - MC