“Color” (or colour) on an ingredient list is the function name for an additive whose job is to give or restore colour. Food colours can be natural extracts such as paprika, annatto or caramel, synthetic dyes such as tartrazine, or minerals. Labels that follow Codex practice give the class name followed by the specific name or INS number, so that is where to look to see what was actually used.
In snacks, colour is mostly about appearance. A seasoning, a cream or a coating looks more appetising and more consistent from batch to batch with a little added colour, even when the flavour comes from elsewhere.
In Lay’s Stax Sour Cream & Onion, “Color” is followed by INS 160c, paprika extract, a natural red-orange colour from red peppers; the Thai label lists the same additive as a natural colour.
